


It Takes a Mercenary Team

by Aisene



Series: Radiant Future [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Assassination Attempt(s), Basically fluff and humor with some action, Canon-Typical Violence, Family Fluff, M/M, No Cannibalism, Okay some cannibalism, Origins of Priam, People getting punched in the face, Pregnancy, Priam is Ike and Soren's son, Romantic Fluff, Soren hates tea, Team as Family, magic is fickle, obviously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 05:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26348035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aisene/pseuds/Aisene
Summary: Surely no one thought it would be EASY for two of the most powerful people in Tellius to start a family...
Relationships: Bole | Boyd/Mist, Ike/Senerio | Soren, Lay | Ranulf/Tiamat | Titania
Series: Radiant Future [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1914559
Comments: 9
Kudos: 28





	1. July

**Author's Note:**

> Phew! This took forever to rewrite! But it's the first in a trilogy so it needed to be done! This is completely self-indulgent but I hope you enjoy anyway.

According to Mist, the best way to tell if someone was pregnant was to have urine injected into a rabbit, or onto wheat and barley seeds. Thankfully enough, with Soren there was no question about it.

One minute he had been up and controlling the winds to clear out the courtyard from errant seeds, and the next he had collapsed onto the floor with no grace at all. When someone came to check on him, he threw up on them. Then he was in bed, sipping water and with his feet propped up. He had no idea how he'd gotten there, but presumably Mist had something to do with it, because she was sitting next to him.

"Well that didn't take long!" Mist said with a giggle. "Either you're very fertile, or you and my brother have been very busy the last two weeks!"

"Both," Soren admitted, somewhat smug about that last point.

Yes, to start their family Soren had used magic to make him able to carry a child. Although there had been some hesitation at first, of course, both Ike and Soren adapted to the temporary sex change fairly easily. Appearance-wise Soren hadn’t changed overly much, having never been particularly masculine to begin with nor overly concerned with gender norms; and, while Ike was intimately aware of the differences under his robes, he was curious enough (and, flatteringly, enough in love with Soren) to just roll with it. The hardest part for everyone had been Soren’s initial opting to be referred to with female pronouns for the duration, under the assumption it would be _easier_. It was not, and he’d given up quickly. Thankfully for Soren in particular, it was a small matter.

"Well I've been very busy with reading notes from midwives," she said, smiling and petting Soren's hair, "and I do have to say it's not uncommon for pregnant people to feel nauseated or faint as the first signs. So, I'd say just rest for awhile."

"Are you going to be my midwife, then?" Soren asked, somewhat horrified and amused at the idea. He'd known the girl for a long time, although she obviously wasn't a girl anymore… but she was still Soren's sister-in-law. But better her than a stranger who lived away from the fort. Maybe.

Mist lit up. "Definitely! I'm super excited to help out however I can with my little niece or nephew! Just do me a favor and don't name it in any way after Ike, okay?"

"That was never going to happen, I promise."

The door burst open. "Are you okay?" Ike demanded, looking harried. "Is he okay?" he asked of his sister.

Mist grinned big, but Soren was the one to tell him, "Rabbits of Tellius rejoice, I'm pregnant and there's no need to torment them to find it out."

"Congratulations," Mist whispered, hugging her shocked-looking brother before she snuck out.

Ike flailed a little. "That's amazing, but, why did you faint?"

Gosh, he was cute. Soren could tell by the way Ike was twitching that what he really wanted to do was give him a full hug-and-squeeze, but he was holding himself back out of nerves. "It happens sometimes. I just need to be more careful, now that I know. You can come over here."

Ike tiptoed over, which was absurd given the size of the man, and he crawled into bed to curl up with him. He gave him a gentle hug and rested a hand on his abdomen, kissing his hair. "I'm happy. Are you happy?"

"I'm happy." _And amused, you great giant dork,_ he thought with love and adoration.

"I'm happy too. What do you think about naming him Ike? Or if a girl, Ikette?" Ike was now beaming as he rested his head on Soren's sternum, his hand rubbing the non-existent baby bump.

"No," said Soren, even more amused now. "We don't need two Ikes, and we really don't need an Ikette. No one needs an Ikette."

"Technically my name is Isaac," Ike retorted. "His would just be Ike. So it wouldn't be the same."

Soren tugged on his hair gently. "No."

"Ikea for a girl?"

"Definitely not."

"Soren is a gender-neutral name, so either works…"

"No."

Ike pouted playfully. "I guess we could combine the two, like… Iren? Isen?"

"No way. Besides, it's not uncommon to lose pregnancies this early on," Soren reminded him. "So don't go making up names just yet."

His face instantly turned into a scowl. "Oh. But… what can I do?"

"Just let me rest… and make sure to do anything and everything I ask of you. Worship the ground I walk on. Treat me like the prince I am."

"Sure!"

"I was joking…"

Ike now had his look of determination, and Soren saw his fate for the next nine months. "I am going to spoil you rotten."

He shook his head, but the damage had been done. "I was kidding. I just need to take it easy."

"I'll go get food!" he declared, jumping up and running out of the room. He then ran back in, kissed him soundly, whispered, "I'm so happy!", then ran back out.

"I'm doomed," Soren said with a helpless little laugh. But he was beaming as he rubbed his own abdomen.

Faint spells, nausea… whatever came his way, he was going to kick this pregnancy's ass.

* * *

In a way, Soren was a lot more fun. Ike did feel bad for him, because going from male to pregnant female was a huge change and it took its toll pretty obviously. But that was the fun of it!

_Which Soren was he going to get today?_

It could be one who was glowing expectantly and singing to himself as he did his duties, completely unfazed by the nausea and tiredness. He loved that one (almost) the most.

Or, the one who became irrationally possessive and threatened to murder Ike and anyone he cheated on him with, in between growling at people he perceived as coming too close. That one was flattering but exasperating.

A close relative of that one was the angry, irritable, "Get off my ass and leave me alone, Ike!" Soren that Ike chose to ignore. He was not letting him be unsupervised, for one, and for two, his ass was still pretty lovely.

Then there was the weepy one who let his sickness and exhaustion get the better of him, curled up in bed and refusing to do anything independently. That was the worst one. It made Ike feel intense guilt.

Ike's personal favorite was the insatiably horny Soren that showed up at random times and was triggered by the most mundane things. Who knew changing bed sheets was sexy?

(And one time there had been a mix, which was scary.

Ike had found him staring in sorrow and wibbling at the top shelf of his office bookcase. He was standing on the chair, which had worked just fine when he was two inches taller. Ike walked over and stood on his toes to grab the ledger he was reaching for. Soren had then promptly tackled him and kissed him quite soundly, starting to take his pants off for sexy times. Mist had walked in to check on them, only for Soren to threaten to electrocute her into a pile of ashes.

Thankfully Mist had a decent sense of humor and left. Ike decided to never mention the incident again.)

And of course, there was Typical Soren, who was relieving to see if not so entertaining. Typical Soren was still exotic. Ike completely understood that Soren was still Soren and identified as male, but it was complicated to look at a female and use male pronouns… but it had been just as difficult to refer to Soren as _she_. Soren thankfully was very relaxed about it all. Ike was admittedly still getting used to lady parts, but it turned out that “if it’s Soren, it’s okay” was pretty much his sexuality. But everyone asked him about that, which was really annoying. 

While Ike would be too excited to be at the end of this holding their child in one arm and his husband Soren back to normal in the other, he was highly aware this was still _Soren_ and still the person he fell in love with, and it was all okay, and take it one day at a time.

(And what if Soren decided to keep girly parts? Er… Well. Ike would live. He’d get used to it, eventually. He hoped Soren didn’t decide to do that, though. Given the struggles already, he had a feeling Soren would be back to male as soon as physically possible. The sex was good, but it wasn’t _him.)_

Otherwise, the rest of the company had definitely stepped up. All of them, which was shocking. Oscar seemed to take his various cravings as a challenge. Boyd, Mia and Gatrie all did more missions so Ike could focus on Soren. Mia in particular had stopped randomly attacking him for sparring practice (if he'd known that would happen, he would have suggested baby-making years ago). Rolf was stoked to not be the baby and was serving as a decent messenger and errand-runner. Rhys and Mist had taken over researching and preparing information about pre- and postnatal care. Shinon avoided everyone as per usual but occasionally little handcrafted toys would appear that they attributed to him. Titania was largely out in the community as she stepped up to cover what others weren't doing.

Soren spent a lot of his time, when he wasn't working on finances, reading the books that Mist had acquired about midwifery. It made Ike's job of making sure he ate and relaxed easier, although eyestrain was a common problem. With him distracted he could feed him by hand, prop his feet up and give him little massages. He still had a lot of fainting spells and nausea, and Ike would be more worried if everyone wasn't so confident this was normal.

But overall, Ike was thrilled. This was really happening. He was going to be a father with his beloved Soren.

And everything was going so well!


	2. August

_August 2nd:_

Soren was determined to not let the baby change more than it had to. He was not helpless, nor was he in any way majorly changed by any of this – he could go into town, do the finances, and deal with people seeking to hire them. Everything was fine.

And for the entire month of July, this was mostly true. He spent most mornings throwing up, and had a couple more fainting spells, but Ike hadn't been joking about spoiling him rotten so in the end it wasn't all that bad. In fact, he was more than comfortable to deal with it if it meant a healthy family. He'd been through worse, after all.

Everything changed one day in early August.

"This is bullshit," Shinon complained, sauntering after him through a hallway. Soren sighed because he was walking away from him for a reason, because _the discussion was over_ , but he was persistent. "You're not my dad and this isn't an allowance! Give me my money!"

"You are not getting an early stipend to buy more booze!" he snapped back, "Finish off what's in the stores or go make your own money somehow!" 

Shinon put a hand on his shoulder, and Soren swung around to use the winds to throw him away.

Only nothing happened.

They both blinked in surprise, Soren's hand out in front of Shinon's face. He moved it again, and there was a pleasant breeze.

"Aaaaand you don't have magic," Shinon observed.

"Well, shit," Soren admitted, finally lowering his hand. He wasn't quite right - he had _some_ magic, but it clearly wasn't being cooperative. He felt a sense of panic up his spine when he realized he was alone with Shinon and basically helpless, because he and Shinon still hated each other and Soren trusted very few.

Shinon gripped his sleeve in lieu of his shoulder, and Soren's anxiety shot up. But then he started dragging him the other way, yelling, "Hey everyone! Emergency meeting! Baby Mama doesn't have magic!"

"You bastard!" Soren snarled, although part of him was touched that Shinon cared even a little. Then again, he had a weakness for kids. Apparently that included the unborn.

It was surprisingly effective, and a team meeting was called soon and featured everyone – all the more impressive because Boyd and Ike had been gone chopping wood and they were still back. Ike pulled Soren onto his lap as the discussion began.

"So now that Soren's magic isn't working right, that means he needs to stay out of the field," Titania said. "Do you agree, Commander?"

"Definitely," said Ike.

"I don't agree," Soren argued, "While I agree that I don't need to go on missions that might involve violence, I can still go on missions that don't. And I wasn't going on violent missions _anyway_. Nothing needs to change!"

"Or you can remain here and continue to work on the finances and potential customers," Ike countered, resting his chin on his shoulder. Before Soren could argue that, he continued, "So you'll have some duties, but lighter."

"The less the better," Rhys spoke up. When everyone looked at him, he amended, "You've already shown signs of this being a taxing pregnancy. The less work you do, the healthier you'll be."

"But you need to do something because being a bored vegetable isn't good either," Mist agreed.

"I have an idea!" Rolf exclaimed, "Maybe Soren still gets to do stuff, but he gets someone as backup just in case?"

"I like that idea. Still no going on dangerous missions, but a gradual lessening of other duties." Oscar nodded, walking over and handing Soren the hunk of chalk. "Here, write down what you do, please."

Ike begrudgingly let him go as he wrote on the board:

\- Stockroom management

\- Food, weapons, other supplies

\- Intakes

\- Discharges

\- Magic consultation

\- Fieldwork

\- Finances

"That's it."

"Considering my job is 'stab things and look pretty,' I feel a little like a slacker," Gatrie pouted, but he notably didn’t volunteer anything.

"And you don't even manage to look pretty," Shinon said.

"I call food stock management!" Ike called as he pulled Soren back onto his lap.

Soren fought a blush because public displays were atypical between them, but he accepted it without complaint. This was nice. Still, "No."

"I can take over food stock management, that's natural," Oscar said, running his finger through the word on the board. "Sorry, Ike."

"Less vegetables, more meat," Ike advised.

"No," said Soren and Oscar together. Soren gave Oscar his nod of approval.

"I can take over intakes and discharges," Titania said.

"No," said Soren, "You'll accept too many charity cases." Titania gave him a bemused look as she still crossed it off.

"I want magic consultation!" Mia exclaimed. "That sounds like a lot of fun!"

"No," said everyone. Mia pouted.

"I can be your backup for that, but you'll largely need to continue doing those," Rhys admitted. Soren huffed a little because Rhys was basically useless for such a thing, but, there was no one else. At least it wasn't a thing that happened very often.

"I can do weapon stockroom stuff," Boyd offered.

"No," said Soren, "Can you even count to eleven?"

Boyd spluttered his defense even as the others laughed at him. Poor Boyd. Almost.

"There is no _real_ reason Boyd can't do it," Ike said with amusement, even though he had laughed too. They'd always had somewhat of a rivalry, but Boyd dating his sister, and treating her kindly, had made Ike more tolerant of him. "I'm guessing he can even count to twenty."

"Ha ha," said Boyd as he crossed that off the list. "Last time I volunteer for anything."

"That leaves finances," Ike said. "Who… who wants to volunteer for that?"

No one did.

Soren felt somewhat relieved. The only one who could do a decent job of it was probably Shinon, and he was just as likely to steal funds as he was to actually balance the budget. "That's fine. I can be actively giving birth and still manage the money."

"I'll do it," Ike said lowly. Soren wasn't the only one who caught the gravity of the situation, as the entire team looked at him in shock. "Oh what?!"

"Wow Boss, fatherhood's mellowed you out already!" Mia cheered.

"I only have to do it if Soren's all fainted!" he protested. Soren brushed an imaginary tear of pride from his eye.

(After the meeting was over, Gatrie, Mia, Shinon, Mist and Rolf all exchanged self-congratulatory high-fives.)

* * *

_August 10th:_

Soren was horny as hell again. 

It came and it went at the most random of times. But all day as he dealt with intakes, Titania shadowing, he just kept thinking about how he wished she were Ike so he could pin him down on the desk and just ride him like a stallion -

Okay no, Soren, stop. 

Needless to say when they both returned to their bedroom that evening, Soren all but tackled Ike, kissing him while trying to get his pants off. Usually Ike was receptive, but he grasped Soren’s hips with a breathless chuckle. “Slow down, slow down! We really shouldn’t go all the way anymore. I can help you out though.”

“Right, with your cock,” Soren agreed.

Ike caught his hands instead. “No,” he said gently, “I don’t want to hurt you or the baby.”

Soren stared at him as that registered. _Ike was going to try abstinence for the next eight months?_

Hell no.

“To clarify, you’re saying no because you’re worried, not because you don’t want to have sex?”

“Heh, right.” Ike raised his hand and kissed the back of it. “Like I said, I’ll take care of you. But no more, you know… you know.”

This was unacceptable.

Soren pulled his hands free and left their room. “Rhys or Mist!” he called.

“Not Mist!” Ike argued nervously as he followed. “And not Rhys either! Don’t-”

Luckily for Ike, Rhys was the one who heard him. “Is something wrong?” he asked, looking out of his own room. Everyone had a roommate, and Rhys’ was Oscar; sometimes Soren would sneak in there just to bask in the serenity. 

Soren said yes as Ike said no. “Ike is trying to say he’s now too nervous to have sex with me because I’m pregnant.”

“Dear goddess Soren,” Ike whined, his face turning bright red.

Rhys giggled, smiling serenely even as he shook his head. “No Ike, it’s fine. It’s good exercise and, you know, good for bonding. Just be open about what feels good and what doesn’t.”

Soren looked at Ike expectantly.

“So I can’t… you know… break anything. Or… poke?”

Rhys giggled more. “No.”

“Oh. Good. Then. Er. Sorry.”

Soren grabbed Ike’s arm and dragged him back to bed. Thankfully there were no protests this time, although Rhys did laugh out loud.

* * *

_August 21st:_

Soren felt like he wanted to die, but work was work and they had work to do. He rolled out of bed, which took entirely too much effort. Typically Ike slept like the dead, with the sole exceptions of when the Black Knight had been known to be alive. He was slightly more on edge now that Soren was pregnant, but Soren still had to hit his arm repeatedly to get him up.

"Whaaaaaaaat."

"It's drill time." Gosh he looked cozy. He wanted to curl up with him again, but, again, he had work to do. "Come on."

"I don't waaaaanna."

"You don't have a choice," he reminded him. "You are ostensibly our boss. This was your idea."

He sighed deeply, sincerely, and sat up. "Okay fine. Let's go."

Soren went to the ramparts and activated the magical alarm, which sent off a piercing siren. As the group shambled their way up, he knew that if looks could kill he'd be dead a thousand times over. He would kill himself first, frankly. "We are currently under attack by a group of mercenaries from Kilvas," he said.

"I shoot them all and go back to bed," Shinon grumbled.

"I help," Rolf added. His eyes were still shut and he had a teddy bear.

"And I dictate a nasty letter to Naesala," Ike finished. "Do we need to review siege procedure, guys?"

"No," said everyone. Soren normally would insist on it, but he was too busy throwing up over the ramparts.

* * *

_August 27th:_

Titania hummed to herself, happy to be in town for the first time in a long time. She often didn't get to run errands, but with Soren out of the picture her duties were frequently expanding, and that included looking for prospective jobs… and maybe little presents for everyone. Was it tradition to buy presents for someone newly pregnant? She wasn't sure - she'd actually never met anyone who was pregnant before. The closest she'd ever gotten was to a postpartum Elena and little infant Mist.

She prayed to the dead goddess that she didn't ever get that baby fever. Soren and Ike could handle all that, thanks. She was happy to be the cool aunt.

There was something coming up behind her, fast. She felt a little wary, because she'd left her axe back at the fort, but she was hardly helpless even if she was unprepared. She tensed herself, spun, and…

Punched Ranulf in the face.

Even as she spluttered apologies, the cat man covered his shattered nose and swore pretty creatively. "I feel like I just got headbutted by Skrimir!" he mourned even as Titania scrambled to get out a vulnerary. "You just broke my face! You are freakishly strong! It's like I just slammed my head into a stack of bricks! A brick stack!"

"I am so sorry!" she said again as he drank the healing potion. "You startled me!"

"I'll never do it again! I might never smell again, either!" He wiped the blood off his face. He looked at her with an expertly sad expression, his ears drooped down. "That was… hurtful. All I wanted was to say hi…"

"We're all a little on edge," she explained, still feeling crushing guilt.

"Really? Why? Did you punch everyone else too?"

All right, he was starting to lay it on a little thick. "No. It's – well, it's not my place to say. If you head north you'll find the fort, it’s about four days’ travel away."

"That's where I was going when I saw you," he explained. "I figured you were a friendly face. Instead, you were a very friendly fist in my face."

She just sighed. "Again, I'm sorry."

"And I know what's going on. Soren and Ike are having a kitten so everyone's being protective." As her eyebrows shot up, Ranulf explained, "Word travels fast! I actually came out to help." He held up a satchel. "I'm sure there are a lot of things we have in Gallia that you beorc don't know about."

"I'm sure." She pictured Ike and Soren holding a kitten and it made her chuckle. "But there's more than that… Soren doesn't have magic, pretty much."

Ranulf slowly nodded. "Okay, I can definitely see why that would make everyone anxious. Soren's not exactly known for his _physical_ prowess. I'll approach the fort with both hands up and be happy if Ike doesn't kill me. He's probably in full papa lion mode."

"More of a mother hen."

"Mother cat, thank you." He grinned at her. "Okay, I forgive you for punching me, and will direct any of my enemies your way. See you back at the fort!"

As she bade him farewell, he tied the bag to a collar and transformed back into a lynx-panther. It made the townsfolk nervous, but at this point Titania was more than used to seeing laguz transform so she fondly waved him away and went back to her shopping.

Well, hopefully he was being honest about his being here.

Who was she kidding? He was definitely hiding something. Hopefully it wasn't anything bad.

* * *

_August 31st:_

Soren reviewed his notes on the job as he sat across the man in his office. He didn't seem familiar to him, but his notes indicated he would be here for "The farmhands, correct?"

"Yes. Your people did an excellent job, enough that I can overlook the loss of a couple of ears of corn to hungry mercenaries." He chuckled, appearing at ease and amused. "One of the men also cleaned the hooves on one of my horses."

Soren notated that; he would have a talk with Oscar about it later - some day he would get these overly-benevolent people to _charge_ for extra services even if it killed him. "The completion of the job to the satisfaction of all parties results in a payment of-"

The war hadn't left any of them easily, and this was true even now. He was moving even before he consciously registered the knife or the man leaping across his desk. His body was moving instinctually, going through the motions of casting magic even as the spirits did not respond and he silently cussed them out. He grabbed his log book, for lack of anything better, and swung it around, catching the knife in the pad of paper. By pulling it down the knife flew out of the man's hand, although he then went to his belt. The knives were small but deadly enough, easily hidden.

An assassin. An actual assassin was trying to kill him in his office.

Yelling for help was not in Soren’s nature. He quietly disposed of his enemies and moved on, taking any damage as evidence that he hadn't been adequate and needed to identify and correct weaknesses. Even as he pulled the knife from his paperwork he still couldn't find the words, as if he had gone mute again. The man tackled him to the ground and he still couldn't speak.

"This is for the wars!" he spat, another knife in his hands that clashed with the one Soren held inexpertly . He didn't really know what he was doing, just struggling to stab him and have him not stab back.

He was successful, somehow, and he felt nothing but relief when the blade bit into the flesh of his assailant’s chest. It slid between his rib cage and into his heart, the perfect killing strike. The new corpse collapsed on top of him.

He had to lay there and collect his thoughts.

Completely lucky. Purely lucky. He was alive because of _luck_.

There was a dead jackass on the floor of his office, getting blood all over the stone, and him. A (poorly) trained assassin, referencing the wars. Plural. Almost killed him. Lucky.

There were warm, rough hands cupping his face. "Are you okay?" There was someone in front of him but he wasn't registering it, and the weight was off his body. "Soren. Look at me."

It took almost too much effort, but he managed to get his eyes to focus on Ike's.

"Are you hurt?"

Was he hurt? No. He shook his head.

"Okay. Good. Come on." There was something draped around him – Ike's cloak – and he was being carried.

"He's in shock," said someone else. Rhys. "Get him warm and his legs elevated."

"I will. Have someone get rid of the body, then come with me."

"Assassin," Soren whispered. "For wars, he said."

Ike stopped walking. "What? You've got to be kidding me."

"I heard it too," Rhys admitted.

"Okay. Change of plans. Emergency meeting. Get everyone, meet in my room."

"Yes Commander!"

The next thing he knew, he was sitting on their bed as Ike got him changed into clean clothes. Then he wrapped him up in a big blanket, and by this time the world was coming back into focus. "Well, shit," he said aloud.

This made Ike laugh a little, although he could almost hear the helplessness in his tone. "Yeah. No arguments here. You look like you're physically okay though?"

"Yes. I just feel tired."

"Once our meeting is over, we'll nap. But I need you to answer questions so we can best prepare for this, okay?" Ike pulled him next to him, placing Soren’s legs on his to prop them up a little. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"It's fine."

"No it's not. My job is to keep you safe, and I failed. It will not happen again."

He shook his head as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It wasn't making things any better. The afternoon's events were replaying over and over again.

An assassin! Someone had literally hired someone to kill him and he had no way to defend himself!

"Soren."

It was so multi-faceted. The assassin had spat at him that this was punishment for the wars. Was he the ultimate target, or just the easiest to get to? If he left, would Ike be safe? Or would they just target Ike instead? Was this because he was pregnant? Or because he didn't have magic? Or just a coincidence?

"Soren!"

Was it because of his part – the tactician that guided the armies to victory? Or because of his relationship with Ike – was he just the easier one to kill by default? Or because he's Branded, cursed, filthy —

All the thoughts ground to a halt when Ike grabbed his chin and forced eye contact.

"I know what you’re thinking, and it doesn't matter," he said firmly. "Why they tried to hurt you, why there are assassins apparently, none of it! The only thing that matters is that I will keep you safe. I love you, and I will protect you and our child. You hear me? I would follow you to the ends of Tellius so don't think you can leave out of some stupid desire to keep me safe. _I will protect you._ That's how this is going to work."

"But what about you?" Soren whispered. "I need to be able to protect you too, but I can't like this. If they're after me then I need to stay away from you. But if they're after you, I - maybe…" He could barely bring himself to mouth, "Maybe we should terminate?"

"No, love," Ike said, voice gentler now as he began to pet his hair. "No matter who they're after, we stay together. All of us. We don't let them win. I will protect the both of you."

Soren had no good response to that, and just hugged him tightly. "Thank you," he whispered, although it didn't feel like enough. He didn't even care that the others were coming in, too selfish at this moment.

He kissed his forehead. "And you know all the things I've killed over the years. Anyone seeking to harm my family is going to die far worse." He rubbed Soren's back soothingly even as he felt a small blush form. His family. He was his family. "All right, everyone's here. I need you to be the strategist for a few minutes. An unknown assailant is attacking us due to a grudge from the war. How do we handle it?"

Soren fought to turn the rest of his brain off, falling back into old thought patterns that came easily. "We have three choices. We assume this agent's untimely demise will scare off other people from attacking us… we relocate to another fort and hope the extra effort is enough protection… or we implement some changes to keep everyone here protected."

Ike hummed. "What changes are you thinking?"

"No one is ever alone, everyone is armed. Jobs are screened more thoroughly. All entrances to the fort are sealed up except the main one."

"That sounds doable, more so than moving, and it's definitely a better idea than pretending nothing is wrong," said Oscar. "Also I'm glad everyone is safe."

"He's gonna serve up the dead guy for dinner," Rolf joked, earning a light-hearted smack from his older brother.

"Not even I like meat that much," Ike admitted.

“You could have eaten humans before and you wouldn’t know it,” Boyd pointed out. 

“No! No cannibalism!” Oscar cried in dismay. “I would never!”

"For the record, I would literally rather have an assassin kill me than have to be part of a buddy system," Shinon interrupted. 

"What about me?" Gatrie demanded of him with hurt eyes.

"Especially not you!"

"I don't know who I want to be my buddy," Mia admitted. "Maybe we draw names from a hat?"

"No!" protested Boyd and Shinon.

"We'll get it started and figure it out, but we can't do much with Titania and Mist gone anyway." Ike nodded and kissed Soren's forehead again. The pregnancy had brought out a touchy-feeling, openly affectionate aspect of Ike that Soren was starting to crave.

Speaking of craving…

"I really want something salty," he said.

* * *

Oscar was at a loss, but decided to go with salted pork. "I suppose I could bake something up with salt…"

"We'll try this first," Ike agreed. If nothing else, he could-

"If he – she – he? If Soren won't eat it, I will!"

Ike dropped the food and drew his sword before he even registered anything. "Wha - Ranulf? When did you get here?" he demanded as he sheathed his blade.

The cat man grinned at him broadly even as he held his hands up. "Just like five minutes ago. I come bearing gifts for the expectant queen! I ran into Titania in town and she let me know everyone was on edge, and she was not exaggerating!"

"How did you know?" Oscar asked as Ike cleaned up.

"Ike asked me for ideas on how to make sex good for a woman." Ranulf’s grin grew. "Either he was being held hostage and forced to use code, or it's family planning time! I'm glad it's Soren. I think even an agreed-on surrogate would drive him nuts. Hopefully the kitten has Soren's brains…"

Ike smacked his friend on the back of the head for that comment before hugging him tight. "Glad you're here. And your advice was spot-on. And now you're an extra person to help keep him safe!"

Ranulf hugged him back before they let go. "Keep _him_ safe? I figured you might need me to protect the rest of you from him! I'm super cute." He smirked.

"I wish! But he… his magic is wonky for right now… and someone's put out a bounty on his head. Maybe." Ike felt pretty good to see the normally unflappable cat's tail puff. 

"Seriously?"

"We think," Oscar interjected. "This happened just this afternoon. And speaking of keeping us safe from Soren, here Ike, get going before he takes you out for dallying."

Ike blanched and bolted, even managing to not eat the food on the run.


	3. September

_September 1st:_

Soren was not a fan of Ranulf much as he wasn't a fan of most Gallians – not only was there a history involved, but as a rule the beast laguz were passionate and touchy in a way that made him feel prickly.

And he brought… the tea.

"I must say Soren, you are an absolutely radiant queen, definitely glowing with the vitality of life," he said as he walked over with a mug. Soren was suspicious instantly, and even Ike bristled. "Simply gorgeous, and I mean that very sincerely. May your kitten get your brains and beauty, and Ike's brawn. And to help with that… here." He handed it over. "It is strengthening and energizing."

"Flattery gets you nowhere with me," Soren said as he took it. He sniffed it and recoiled, thrusting it back at him. Ike leaned in before also backing up. "No."

Ranulf placed the mug on the table by them. "Ah, but you are also brilliant, determined and, dare I say it, very practical. This tonic, when taken once a day, improves the vitality of both queen and kitten. Now while you certainly are beautiful enough to look as if you do not need the extra assistance, surely some discomfort pales in comparison to the benefits?" He blinked slowly, purring.

Ike frowned at his friend. "Ranulf, turn off the flattery mode before it gets you in trouble."

Ranulf grinned, which was more sincere than his smirk and his saccharine flirtation. "But Ike, this is just me! I'm naturally this charming."

Ike snorted. "Turn it down some when speaking to _my husband_ or you'll see a side of me you don't like."

Ranulf shook his head sadly. "Asking me to be less like my natural self. I didn't think you were that way."

Soren sighed a little because of course Ike would take Ranulf's poorly-veiled manipulations seriously. "He's not being sincere, Ike. He wants me to drink this."

Ike rolled his eyes and Ranulf smiled at them both, a genuine one. "Alright, I'll try to be less charismatic. But I mean it about the tea. I only want what's best for the queen and kitten."

Soren wasn't sure how he felt about being called a queen, or about how his unborn child was a kitten. It was... unusual. Still he delicately sniffed the mug again. "What is in this? It smells like moss and dirt."

"Moss and dirt," Ranulf said in a deadpan voice before smiling. "Honestly it is herbs and grasses and some bark from Gallia. I can give you a list with the names and properties. We've perfected it over centuries to make sure pregnant laguz are able to keep being warriors even when expecting, but there are some beorc in the border towns who swear by it too."

"Hmmm… did you bring enough for me to take once a day, or are you planning on going back to Gallia at some point?"

"There should be enough for some time, and I was going to arrange with a merchant for the rest… unless you want me to leave..." Ranulf's tail tip twitched once, betraying him.

The flattery hadn't gotten to Soren; it could be discounted easily. But the fact that he brought so much with him, making plans to stay and help? 

He sipped. "The taste isn't as revolting as the smell, although it can stand sweetness. Will sugar or honey ruin the effects?" That was as close of a concession as he would give.

Ranulf slow-blinked at them again. "Not at all. Either or both would be fine."

Soren nodded. "I'll go talk to Oscar then. And... thank you for thinking of us, Ranulf." That was weird and left an odd taste in his mouth. Or maybe that was the tea.

"Of course." The cat seemed to mean it, which was disconcerting.

Ike was smiling openly. "That was nice!"

Ranulf grinned. "I agree." Then he sauntered off, and Soren figured it was to avoid his protests.

In fact, with Ranulf gone, Ike was smiling at him with the look that said he was proud of him. He only ever got it when he was open with people. He huffed at him. "Fine, if you're going to tease me, you can go pester Oscar."

"I'm not teasing! Ranulf is a good friend and I'm glad to see you getting along." Then he couldn't help but add, "And I'm not the one that has to drink that stuff."

"Funny how you weren't glad when he was flattering me…"

Ike held up a hand. "I mean getting along _as platonic friends._ Obviously nothing else."

Soren smiled at that. "Don't get ahead of yourself, we aren't friends yet. But _you_ could afford to flatter me more often."

Ike smiled in an entirely different way. "Oh I think I can manage that..."

* * *

_September 10th:_

Finally Soren found a book in his vast collection that offered an explanation as to the fact that his magic wasn't working. Fascinatingly enough, upon reading more on the topic, he discovered that pregnancy in mages typically resulted in magic fizzling out due to the fetus' presence interfering. If the child did not have magic, which was more likely than not, then the spirits treated the _mage_ as not having magic either. Most mages chose not to reproduce for precisely this reason. It provided a possible explanation for why Callil adopted, anyway.

He was miffed at himself for not knowing this ahead of time, but it was too late now. The spirits were around, if he focused he could see them, but they were being incredibly inconsistent with whether or not to come to his beck and call.

It was a little disappointing that this child was non-magical, as it would have been fun to pass on the arts in a polite, non-abusive way. But really this was fine; it was already larger than it should be, so it was probably going to be a mini Ike. While he could joke aloud such a thing was a worst-case scenario, truth be told he was relieved. As much as he tried to deny it, having a magical child might correlate with having a Branded, and giving birth to a child bearing the Brand was a horrifying prospect. Oh sure, in a post-Goddess post-Dheginsea world there was nothing wrong with being Branded, per se, but the truth of the matter was that it wasn't all that long ago someone had pelted him with a rock.

(It had only been about a year ago, and it had been an angry peasant woman. She'd made the mistake of throwing rocks at him with Ike not far away. Soren had a panic attack later that night, and then moved on.)

"Hello Soren."

Soren looked up from his book to meet Titania's gaze. "Are you my babysitter while Ike runs his errand?" He didn't know what Ike was doing, which was suspicious, but it was nice to get a break from his hovering. He was probably trying to convince someone to sell him an entire cow. 

Titania smiled. "Yes, but I promise I won't bother you too much - or, at least not as much as Ike wanted me to bother you. I just wanted to see if you-". She froze, her body going tense.

Soren scowled a little too, hearing the sounds of something on four legs moving down the hall outside his office. He was now familiar with Ranulf enough to know it wasn't him; apparently Titania agreed.

Titania's instincts were not at all dulled from the end of the war, and when she spun it was to punch a randomly-appearing woman in the face. Said woman fell to the ground limply.

Titania and Soren peered at her. "She looks a little familiar," Titania mused.

"Laguz woman… oh, she's Lethe's inferior sister," Soren remembered.

"That's not very nice…"

"How odd. She must be here for Ranulf, I would guess-"

The woman jumped up, eyes bright even as she covered her broken face. "Wow! That was amazing! I didn't know beorc got so strong! And such reflexes! I was being stealthy and you still got me!"

"Tha… thank you?" Titania guessed, handing her a vulnerary.

"No, thank YOU!" She drank it with excitement.

Soren could see Ranulf down the hallway out the door, clearly and obviously waffling on what he was going to do now. He sighed. "What are you doing here?" he asked the woman.

The woman was still smiling brightly. "Oh, well first of all my name is Lyre, not 'Lethe's sister.' Second, I'm here to find Ranny! He needs to come home with me!"

Ranulf grimaced, his ears falling down hard.

Soren sighed deeply, regretting this already. "He's mine now, you can't have him," he said to Lyre.

Lyre gasped in shock, and both Ranulf and Titania looked just as confused. Lyre took a thorough sniff through her now-healthy nose. "But you don't smell like him…"

"He smells like me," Soren replied. "I'm the alpha in this pride." Did the cats have prides?

"... Oh, wow." Apparently yes, judging from Lyre's awe. She hazarded a glance toward Titania, whose face was starting to turn bright red. In the hallway, Ranulf looked like he wasn't sure this was better than Lyre finding him.

"Yes, even over her," Soren said.

"That's… that's really amazing. Um, but I think that means I have to fight you for Ranny…"

"You could, but I have an extensive collection of ways to set you on fire. I take my job as pride alpha seriously. Now Ranulf is mine and we have hot mating all the time." At this point Titania had walked into the corner to disguise her laughter.

"Aw, geez…" Now Lyre looked downtrodden. "But it took a long time to get here and I'd hate to waste it… Can I join your pride?"

"No." Ew, gross.

"Pleeaaase?"

"No."

Lyre let out a deep sigh. "Okay, I'll go. But please tell Ranny I love him and he's always welcome to come hide with me from his scary alpha."

"No."

Defeated, Lyre slunk out in shame. Titania stopped trying to hide her laughter. Ranulf came in, looking equal parts grateful and horrified. "You didn't have to do that. Really."

"I certainly did. Hopefully she tells everyone in Gallia that you've joined my harem." Soren chuckled, finally smiling.

"Hopefully she doesn't! Your kitten is obviously not mine!" Ranulf looked pained. "Ye gods she's dumb. That's the only reason I'm happy right now, I hope you know. You saved me from her, but, my poor reputation…"

"All it means is you're even lower in the pride than you thought," Soren informed him, causing him visible agony. It made Titania laugh harder.

* * *

"I need a fireman."

The bartender gave him a solemn nod and led him to a back room. Ike couldn't believe he was doing this, but the moral ambiguity was not going to stop him. Come for his family and he would end you, it was as simple as that. He felt no guilt as he sat down in a quiet dark room.

Mere minutes later, Volke sat across him. "Ike."

"Volke. Someone has put a hit out on my husband."

"I know. I've seen it. I haven't accepted it. No amount of money is worth that."

"Thanks… I think." Well, that was reassuring. Both that Volke had standards and that Ike wasn't imagining things. "I want you to find whoever made the bounty, and I want their head on a platter."

Volke nodded slowly. Ike couldn't read his expression, but then again, he never could. "Two thousand. One now, one upon completion of the job."

He was pleasantly surprised. "That's lower than I expected. Here, I trust you." He handed over the money he'd brought. He'd been willing to go up to five thousand now, and whatever Volke had asked for overall. Soren wouldn't have been happy, but he'd get the money somehow. "That's five. I want this done well."

"Anyone who contracts against a helpless victim gets my particular ire," said Volke. Ike decided not to ask if Volke himself took those contracts; he probably did. No one's above a little hypocrisy.

"Don't say that where Soren can hear you," Ike had to say though.

Volke snorted. "Technically speaking, the contract is against anyone in the Greil Mercenaries. The pregnant mage with no magic is just the easiest target. I consider that a helpless victim. The rest of you, not so much."

Ike nodded, feeling a little bit better at that too. He would have felt awful, even more so, if the contract had been just for Soren, as if Ike had done it to him. But at least it was a general threat. That was sort of relieving. "Well, happy hunting."

Volke nodded and stood. "Stay safe." He left silently. Ike sighed, gathered his thoughts, crushed his guilt, and left too.

* * *

_September 18th:_

Spirits varied in strength, from small wisps to the ones that Sephiran summoned in the tower. Certain heretics suggested that Ashera was just one very exceptionally powerful spirit, not that Soren cared. Typically speaking, as a mage progressed in skill and gained access to a more powerful tome, the more remarkable spirits would be the ones responding to magical calling.

But currently, Soren was only able to manage tiny cantrips. Lighting torches, blowing gentle breezes, making sparks.

He and Ike had agreed that Soren would be the one carrying the child because subjecting a warrior to such an extensive bodily change was just not practical for a whole year, and having a pregnant woman engage in close-range combat was nerve-wracking. Soren could picture Titania or Mia doing it, but the thought of Ike (Ikea?) doing so made him anxious. But losing his magic was, in the end, a lot like it would be for Ike to have to give up his sword. It was a part of him, and he used it for both mundanities and for defense.

And that was why he was spending his afternoon in the courtyard yelling at things no one else could see.

"You useless motherfuckers!" he shouted, and the spirits floated further away as if afraid. "If you don't get in line, then the first thing I'm doing when I'm back to normal is enslaving all of you to change diapers!" He wasn't a spirit charmer so he couldn't understand them, but he was pretty sure they were appropriately horrified at the prospect. "And then I'll figure out how to make you spice up my sex life!" The more prudish ones recoiled. "You heard me – I will finally read the whole book on nymphology! Some of you will die during experiments with erotic electro-stimulation!"

"Ummm, excuse me…"

Soren wanted to go back in time and smack himself for recommending a buddy system, because while it made sense, it also made it a guarantee that someone was pestering him. He glared at Gatrie. "What do you want?"

Gatrie looked intensely awkward as he stared at the ground, hands wringing. "Uh. Who were you talking to?"

"Magical spirits who need to make better life choices. Again, what do you want?"

"… Okay… … So, um, I drew your name from the hat," he explained. "Then I realized something! You must be so hurt and offended, and I'm sorry!"

Soren was baffled. "We've never talked for a long enough time for me to actually get offended by anything you've said," he pointed out.

"But that's just it! I know you're only a woman temporarily, until you have the baby, but – but you're now a beautiful flower and I, the gardener, have been neglecting you! 'Why isn't that handsome Gatrie attempting to seduce me now', you must have questioned, and for that I am deeply sorry!"

"No," said Soren. "No. Not once did I wonder why you weren't hitting on me."

"… Oh. Are you sure?"

"Very."

"… … … Oh. Uh, in that case I'll polish my armor, if you don't mind."

"Whatever."

As he glanced back at the spirits, Gatrie interrupted his concentration again. "Say, what's the deal on, what did you call it, erotic electro-stimulation?"

" _Go away, Gatrie."_

* * *

_September 21st:_

A few nights later, Soren was completely wrapped in Ike's arms, which was probably the most pleasant way to wake up. Still, it was the night of their monthly siege drills and they needed to get up. "IIIIIIIIke."

Ike groaned into the back of Soren's head and tightened his hold on him. "Noooooo."

"Yeeeees." But he couldn't open his eyes.

There was silence for a few beats. "What's the scenario?" he grumbled.

He wasn't particularly proud of this one. "Pirates."

Ike grunted. "The others kill all the pirates and we sleep through it. No need to practice siege procedure. Everyone wins, except the pirates."

"That's cheating," Soren protested half-heartedly, but he was already asleep again and he was _heavy_ , so he gave up. Heartbreaking, of course.

* * *

_September 28th:_

Usually the Greil Mercenaries were hired for culling bandits, but occasionally they got more fun jobs. As long as he got paid in the end, Ike really didn't care. So when in town and approached by a little girl asking him to rescue her stuck cat, Ike had no problems with it once he saw her dad nearby with gold.

The only downside was that Ike's buddy for the day was not Ranulf, who could just talk the cat into coming down, but rather Shinon, who would not debase himself in such a way (unless there were no witnesses, because Shinon was a ginormous softy when it came to kids). So yes, Ike had to be the one to climb a tree to rescue a cat.

Ike was precariously balanced on a large tree branch, one arm outstretched. "Here, kitty kitty kitty," he cooed nervously, not trusting in his balance and the strength of the tree.

"Mr. Fluffums!" the young girl chimed in from where she was standing with Shinon. "His name is Mr. Fluffums!"

"He'll react much better if you call him by name," Shinon called over, visibly amused.

Ike managed to shoot him a disparaging look before refocusing on the stuck kitten. "Come here, Mr. Fluffums. Your mommy misses you."

The kitten gave him a very curt meow, clearly unimpressed by Ike's attempts at heroics. The girl who'd "hired" them had her hands clasped over her mouth in trepidation, while Shinon was smirking. Ike assumed it was at his lack of comfort.

Ike shimmied, the entire tree shaking and the kitten yowling in displeasure. "Well if you would just come here, you would be rescued and then I wouldn't have to rescue you," he admonished it, reminding himself a little bit of Soren. The kitten was not cowed with Ike's logic, meowing at him before hunkering down at the edge of the branch. With a sigh, Ike reached out and nabbed the ball of fluff before the entire branch cracked and he fell down. He felt his ribs bruise a little, but the kitten was safe in his hand.

"Yaaay, Mister you saved Mr. Fluffums! Thank you so much!" the little girl cheered, running over and taking her wayward kitten. She gave Ike a kiss on the forehead, then looked up. "Oh! My daddy is gone! He has the money to pay you. Silly Daddy. C'mon Mister, follow me!" She scurried off.

Ike sighed and stood up, brushing himself off. Shinon sauntered after the girl, and Ike shot him a glare. "Hey, you didn't do anything, you're not getting any money."

"I was moral support," he retorted.

"Then why was I so miserable?"

They followed the girl to her house. "He's home," she said, still snuggling her kitten, "Thanks again Misters!" She ran off to go play.

"You also didn't deserve her thanks," Ike muttered as he went into the house.

The girl's dad smiled at them. "Thank you for helping my daughter." And if he hadn't been sitting with six different guys, Ike might have believed him. 

He was about to leave when one of them quickly ran at him and threw a powder in his face. In his shock the assailant got a knife in his shoulder, but that's all the more advantage the guy got. He could hear Shinon start beating people with his bow, the space too short for firing. Ike tried to focus on the sounds of the people around him while ignoring the intense pain in his eyes. It blocked out the pain in his shoulder, but _he couldn't see._

He focused on the way the air in the room moved when someone came at him, and struck out with his hands. He punched someone in the stomach, or somewhere around it, and the guy's groan of pain was gratifying.

When sounds faded to just breathing from him and Shinon, he gave himself a moment to figure out what just happened.

So, another assassination attempt, this one more thought-out than the last. Hopefully Volke was taking his job seriously.

Ike still couldn't see. Shit. Did he want to risk seeking healing here in town, hoping they weren't involved, or try to make it back to the fort blind? Or –

He jumped when something splashed on his face, decreasing the pain instantaneously. A vulnerary. Ike rubbed it in before using the extra to make the shoulder wound clot as he heard Shinon start looting the bodies. Some things never changed. "Thanks," he said, because while he didn't like Shinon, he wasn’t _that_ ungrateful. This was actually a positive step forward!

"I'm taking the money," Shinon agreed.

"Don't tell the little girl you think kicking the crap out of these guys is worth more than Mr. Fluffums," Ike had to joke. "And, uh, don't tell Soren this happened, either. I'll never hear the end of it."

Shinon snorted to grace that with the response it warranted.

* * *

“You would like to hire the Greil Mercenaries,” Titania recounted slowly, as if in a dream, “a trained group of warriors, to… cater your son’s tenth birthday party.”

This man was obviously a noble, and if she had more of a mind for politics she probably knew his name, although his accent was southern. Either way, he did not look impressed. “My son admires the so-called Hero of Blue Flames,” he sneered. “So yes. I am hiring the Greil Mercenaries,” and this he all but spat mockingly, “ _a trained group of warriors,_ to cater my son’s tenth birthday party.”

Titania was a soft touch, and she knew it. Soren had not been wrong when saying that she would accept too many charity cases. It had also been impressed upon her that they needed the money. But this? This was not worth it, and there was no way she could imagine making this worth it.

“Oh, but, not the sub-human or the half-breed,” the man clarified. “Just the people.”

Nope. Nope nope nope. That just drove it home. “We will have to decline,” she said, feeling some satisfaction at the look of pure fury on the guy’s face. 

“You wouldn’t dare!” he spat, aghast. “Do you know who I am?!” She didn’t, but the question was rhetorical. “I demand to speak with the Commander!”

“He’s not here now, but you really don’t want to do that,” Titania advised. “For your health and safety.”

The man did not take the hint. “I am not leaving this fort until I speak with Commander Ike!”

She sighed deeply, sincerely. “You just called his soulmate a half-breed.”

He blanched.

“And the one you referred to as a sub-human is one of his best friends.”

He looked like he might faint.

“And both are valued members of the team and friends to us all. Ike tends to break things when he gets mad. That includes people’s faces. Do you still want to wait for him to get back?”

The nobleman’s face changed from pale to red as he rebuilt his outrage. He stood up hastily. “You’ll all regret having angered me,” he hissed before trying to run away. 

But he was cut off by Ranulf, whose usually smooth fur was bristled. Titania fleetingly felt bad for Ranulf having had to hear that, but he was her backup today and he’d likely have heard worse before. “ _We_ will regret angering _you_?” he asked sweetly. “We, the Greil Mercenaries, General Ike of the Allied Armies, and moi, Ranulf, Sub-Commander of Gallia, will regret standing up against bigotry? It’s just a shame your kid isn’t going to have the best birthday party ever, of course, but frankly no mercenaries should be running a birthday party, that’s just asking for trouble. Also, nice try, but that isn’t how you hiss. This is.” 

His demonstration was impressive, ears flattened and straddling the line between a hiss and a growl. It spooked the man something fierce though, and he literally ran from the area.

Titania let out a sigh. “Was that really necessary?” she gently chided Ranulf, although part of her thought it was. 

Ranulf grinned. "Absolutely necessary." He batted a cup on the floor. "So was that."

Titania just stared at him. At least the cup had been empty, but. "Seriously?" That explained the recent rash of items on the floor. Cats will be cats. Ranulf slowly blinked at her, unapologetic. “I'm guessing you heard the man use slurs... I wanted to apologize. We don't condone that kind of talk, even from clients." She got up to retrieve the cup, since she no longer had meetings. "And honestly, most of the people in this area are very relaxed. I hope you haven't had much trouble."

Ranulf shrugged. “Not more than usual, no. Sorry about the cup. I suppose I was acting out my frustration. I usually prefer to work it off in more pleasant ways." He smiled at her.

It made her think. “You know, I don't recall seeing you ever sparring with someone, even though nearly everyone did it," she mused thoughtfully. "I'm surprised Skrimir didn't force you. Or Lethe, she seemed the type."

Ranulf grinned, seemingly amused at something. "No one forces me to do anything, Titania. I'm a cat. Skrimir knows better and I outrank Lethe. But when I said in more pleasant ways, I meant ways like being in the pleasure of an attractive person’s company. With that in mind, may I stay in yours?"

It hit like the time Oscar managed to hit her with a horseslayer lance, just unexpectedly powerful. She tried her best to come up with a response, but there wasn’t one. She couldn’t recall the last time someone had been so brazenly flirtatious; people tended to be put off by her height, muscles, age, red hair, ability to use an axe with deadly efficiency, or all of the above.

And to be frank, it wasn’t exactly a priority of hers either. She’d been content being as helpful to Greil as she had been, never asking for nor expecting more, her love for him a delicate secret that gave her warmth. His death had broken her. Although, with the healing from time, her biggest regret was that Ike had been the one to kill the Black Knight instead of her. Twice, the jerk. He got to do it twice. Some days she secretly prayed that Zelgius had somehow survived so she could beat him to death with a hammer, or chop him into a hundred tiny pieces with Greil’s old axe. 

Ranulf seemed more amused. “Your face is as red as your hair,” he observed. “I watched to see if you were attached to anyone, but nope… and I think I’m starting to see why. You’re shy, aren’t you?” Titania still couldn’t find words, so she just nodded. “Quite the surprise, given how fierce you are. Well then, allow me to say I am here and interested, if you find yourself interested too. If not, I will still continue to help out around the fort and with the kitten, never fret. We could be friends, I think. You’re obviously more than a decent person. Regardless, I never let things get awkward. Think on it.” He gave her a sort of half-bow before leaving the room, and leaving her to her thoughts.

Titania touched her cheek. It felt like it burned her fingertips.

* * *

_September 30th:_

Although Mist was the midwife, Rhys was just as involved with prenatal care. She actually knew much more about the topic than he did, but with a large amount of time devoted to the healing arts it was only natural that Rhys had picked up information on dealing with pregnancy over the years. And, more importantly, he had magic. Toward the end of September, he volunteered to conduct a comprehensive, magical medical check.

"What exactly is this spell of yours going to tell you?" Soren had to ask as he and Ike sat together on their bed. His robes were open to expose the skin of the bump, and Rhys' hands were glowing overhead.

(Ike was trying not to look at those hands distrustfully. He trusted Rhys completely but… glowy hands around his husband and baby? Not cool. He was still on edge from the multiple killing attempts anyway.)

"Well, this far along we can get quite a bit of information," Rhys said with a smile. "I'm surprised you aren't aware of how magic can help with such a thing, Soren. This isn't limited to just the priesthood. One of Mist's sources is an older midwife who frequently uses the arcane in her work."

"My master was a very old man, the last thing he was interested in was child-rearing," Soren admitted dryly. "It was how I got my job."

Ike scowled, so Rhys quickly changed the topic. "Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?"

Ike looked thoughtful, and Soren realized it was something he hadn't even considered. "I don't care," he said, surprising himself. "My sense of intuition says it's a boy. I suppose a boy would be easier? Isn't that the cliché?"

"I'm definitely easier than Mist," Ike agreed, although it fell a little flat since Mist wasn't there to defend herself. "Honestly, I don't care either though. I'll just be happy to have a kid, and hopefully one that wants to learn to use a sword."

Soren sighed. "There's more to you than just swordsmanship."

"Yeah, but I have to pass it down. It's my legacy, and my dad's legacy. That and the dry steak rub. My dad would rise from his grave if I didn't teach those to his grandkid."

Rhys' hand stopped glowing. "Well, that was very informative. The fetus itself is doing very well, although Soren your vitals are weaker than they should be - but, we've known that. The tea Ranulf brought is helping. And, you'll be having a boy."

"Just how much weaker than normal?" Ike asked in a voice which, if you didn't know him, could sound threatening.

Rhys did know Ike and was gentle. "To a certain extent, the fainting and nausea is normal... but typically he should be over them by now."

Soren was more focused on the fact that it was a boy. A son. They were having a son. A child. An actual child!

Huh. It should have probably sunk in before, but it really did in this minute for him. This was happening.

This was actually happening!

"Rhys, can you leave us, please?" he asked quietly. Rhys glanced to Ike, deferring to his commander.

Ike frowned a little. "Tell me if he's in danger. I mean what we need to do?" Then he glanced at Soren. "Uh, tomorrow, if he isn't in immediate danger."

Rhys shook his head. "Not in danger. We just need to keep stress low."

" _You_ are stressing me out," Soren informed him.

He hesitantly laughed. "I'll, uh, check in tomorrow, then, right." He fled.

When the door shut, Soren covered his face in his hands. "What the hell am I doing? I can't be a parent! I don't know how! It's - _he_ is going to want things like, like, to play in the mud or collect bugs and that is just - _REVOLTING_." He shuddered.

Ike smiled at his husband. "That's what I'm here for. And you'll be great! You're very wise."

"Wise? Wise can't throw a ball or - or - whatever parents do with kids. With sons." He groaned. "Sorry. It just became real and I don't know what to do."

"The best you can. That's all either of us can do."

Soren hugged him, tight. He could accept that, for now.

* * *

_There is nothing but hate, and rage, and the unrelenting desire to murder everything around. And these people are weak, falling to him quickly and easily_. _Soon, the place will be bereft of life, and maybe the desire to kill will be abated._

_He swings his blood-crusted blade as someone grabs the medallion._

_The world comes back into focus._

_The ground is littered with the corpses of the innocent._

_A little boy with spiked blue hair stares at him in shock._

_And Soren is standing in front of him, nearly cleaved in half. The medallion falls from his limp hands._

" _No no no no no no," Ike breathes, kneeling with his husband who is dying in his arms. "No no no no no!" He tries to staunch the bleeding, but there is no coming back from this._

" _It's okay," Soren whispers, smiling, and then he dies._

Ike woke up screaming.

It was not an uncommon experience, unfortunately. Although Ike's sleep had been more restful since he killed the Black Knight, he still had nightmares if he hadn't done enough during the day to make his sleep more like passing out. Soren had full-blown night terrors and had been suffering from them for the entirety of the time Ike knew him, with the wars simply exacerbating everything.

The only bright side is that they were both understanding and patient when the other was suffering, and both knew what to do. Soren quickly used magic to light the nearest lantern before he sat on Ike's lap, cupping his face in his hands. "Ike, look at me."

Ike struggled to follow his directions, his hands shaking as he held them up to cover Soren’s. He'd stopped yelling at least. He wanted to throw up, or kill himself.

"You are sitting in bed. You are in the fort. No alarms have been raised. Everyone is safe and asleep."

"I killed you," he whispered harshly, "I killed you while our son watched. I can't, I can't, I can't-"

"You did no such thing." Soren's eyes softened. Ike had told him the story. "That can't possibly happen. Your father only did that under the influence of the Medallion, and it's gone."

"Can I see?" Ike asked quietly.

Their methods of coping were different. Soren would panic and try to hurt himself, requiring Ike to restrain him until he came back to his senses. Ike needed physical and emotional reassurance that anyone who was hurt in his dreams was okay, even if it meant waking up irritated people to make sure they were still alive.

To that end, Soren stripped off his sleeping shirt (one of Ike's he'd stolen). "See?"

Ike began his investigation, gently touching and kissing every scar but focusing on his stomach - in the dream it had been chopped open, but now it was rounded with the skin taut. Soren was patient with him as he drank his fill.


	4. October

_October 2nd:_

Ike settled in bed next to Soren, feeling absolutely no shame as he pulled his shirt (Ike’s shirt actually, Soren really was not guilty at all about his blatant thievery) up to expose a very impressive baby bump. Of course the bump had always been pretty big, but they were about halfway done with this whole pregnancy thing and Soren sort of looked like he’d swallowed a watermelon. Baby Ike Two was going to be a big boy.

“Tonight’s story is ‘Peek-a-Boo with Fluffy Bunny,’” Ike informed his fetus.

Soren groaned, apparently more awake than Ike had thought. “Where are you finding these horrible things?”

“They’re designed for babies!”

Even mostly asleep still, he didn’t look completely convinced. “Someone made books for babies? That’s a waste.”

Ike rubbed the bump. “Your papa is what we call a ‘cynic,’” he explained. “You’ll have to help me with that.” Soren snorted in amusement and closed his eyes again as Ike regaled their progeny with the tale of a particularly unobservant rabbit. 

When it was over, Ike relaxed and watched as Soren slept. The novelty had worn off, and now Ike missed ‘his’ Soren. Which was stupid, and he knew that, because Soren was Soren no matter what he or she or they looked like. The person he fell in love with was the person laying in front of him. But in the back of his mind, he was aware of the fact that this was temporary, and in March or so this would be over, and he was eager for that to happen. For things to go back to normal, but with a baby. 

But he was also exceptionally anxious for that to happen, too. Not the “going back to normal” part, no. But the “birth” part, which was likely going to be difficult. And the “having the kid” part. The dream he had –

A son. A son who was shaping up to be just like him. Would his son become an orphan, too? Just because Lehran’s Medallion was no longer in the world, it didn’t mean that something else might not pop up. Greil had begrudgingly moved on after killing Elena, living for Ike and Mist; could Ike do the same if he killed Soren?

“Quit staring at me,” Soren murmured. “And quit thinking so hard. I can hear it from here. What’s wrong?”

Ike debated for about a second before he decided he was not going to burden Soren with his depressing thoughts. “Just thinking about a name. I would like him to have some sort of family name, although I get you don’t want him named Ike.”

Soren slowly nodded. Ike could see he didn’t completely buy his topic, but was humoring him anyway. “Unless he’s Branded.”

“What?”

Soren sat up more, forcing alertness. “If he’s Branded, I want him to have a unique name with no history. So he’s his own person. That’s my only stipulation. But, I don’t think he’s Branded, judging from size. But, if he is, we’re not naming him after anyone.”

Soren’s relationship with the brand was a confusing one to Ike, sometimes. Wouldn’t it make more sense for a branded kid to have a family name, to make it clear it was accepted? But he had no problem honoring this request. “Sure, if that’s what you want.”

“Did you have any non-Isaac-related names in mind? Your middle name is Bryce, correct?”

“Yeah.” He’d been shocked to find that there was an actual Bryce out there, an old friend of his dad’s, and dismayed that he’d had to kill him. If he judged the situation right, he was lucky to have avoided the middle name Tauroneo, which would have been better as that Dad-friend was still alive, but, ugh. “Don’t think I like that for a first name though, considering. I don’t like Gawain either, since he left that name, and using Greil as a surname like it’s meant to be just makes the most sense. Sorry, Dad.” 

(It had made the transition to Ike as leader of the team in all senses much easier. “Why are you still the Greil Mercenaries?” “His name was Gawain but he went by his family name. My last name is Greil, too. So, still Greil Mercenaries.” Even Shinon hadn’t been able to argue that away.)

“You know, I was almost named Paris, or Priam.”

He was silent for a minute, and Ike was worried he’d fallen back asleep. “Priam is acceptable. Priam Bryce Greil… No, different middle name.”

Here was going to be the tricky part. “You know… the others have been great… for a middle name, what about Ranulf, or Rhys? Or Oscar? Not Boyd, Rolf, or Gatrie.” ‘Shinon’ was their safe word so he didn’t even need to specify it.

Soren made a face. It was a face of great displeasure. Ike was actually amused by it. “No. Especially not Ranulf, he would never let us hear the end of it. He’s likely to not make it long enough to see the birth anyway as it is, him with that thrice-damned tea.”

Ike snorted. The tea helped, and he drank it every day, but he made a fuss every time. It wouldn’t take long before they would probably have to force-feed him. Ike was not looking forward to it. “You are not going to kill him. But maybe we can… combine the names?”

“A portmanteau? … Ranys?” 

Ike rolled it over his tongue. “Priam Ranys Greil. I like it. Are… are you feeling better about it?”

“Yes. Are _you?_ ” 

He nodded, although truthfully he was all over the place. “I just have a lot of feelings,” he blurted, not sure why. 

Soren pushed himself to sit up completely, and Ike moved to help him. “Tell me about it.”

“I just… well. Worried.” He clammed up, scowling. “I want. Okay. It’ll be okay when this is done. When we have a healthy baby, there’s no more assassins, and you’re back to yourself. And no medallions. Ideally.”

Soren took his hand in his own. He meant it to be comforting but it was smaller than his regular hand and it just reminded Ike more that he was different. “I know exactly what you mean. In many ways it’s the same, and I don’t regret starting this, but, I’ll be glad when it’s over, too.” 

Ike let out a sigh of relief that he was on the same page, and pulled him into his arms for snuggles. It was the best way to chase the inner demons away. “Five more months ish, right? We can do it.”

“Yes, we can. And we will.”

* * *

_October 7th:_

  
“All right! Good morning! I got your name so today we’re going to be friends!” 

Soren, with significant willpower, resisted a groan of dismay as he put down his finance report. “Are we?”

Mia was beaming at him, her eternal beacon of joy never truly going out. “Definitely! Because you know what? You need to learn to use a sword!”

Soren’s eyebrow twitched. “I _need_ to?”

“Yep! I feel dumb I didn’t think of this earlier. So your magic is still not listening, right? Swords always listen. So for safety you should learn to use a sword with me. Not that we’ll send you to the front lines or anything because you look like you’re carrying twins, but enough to keep you safe in a pinch!” She gave a wink and a thumbs up.

Soren considered that. “You’re not wrong,” he marveled. 

Mia snickered. “From you that means a lot.” She held out a wooden sword, another on her hip. “Here. We’ll start with the basics.” 

“What’s in it for you?” Soren asked before thinking.

Mia rolled her eyes to the sky as if praying for guidance. “You’re a teammate so I don’t want you getting killed. Plus this will be fun and I’m bored today! Geez.”

Soren thought about it. His spells had begun to work again since he’d cussed out the spirits… but they were still inconsistent and he hadn’t even tried the stronger ones yet. And Ike would be jealous if Soren accepted Mia’s offer, since Soren always declined Ike’s attempts to teach swordplay… but there were extenuating circumstances. 

“All right,” Soren said, surprising himself. 

Mia lit up. “All right!” she echoed, much happier and more exuberant. Soren took the wooden sword from her hand. “So let’s start with the basics…”

* * *

It was Ike’s least favorite part of being the commander: performance reviews. To say it was awkward was an understatement, but his father had made the time to sit down with everyone to discuss things and Ike felt compelled to continue. 

But obviously there was a different dynamic between Ike and most of these people that made it uncomfortable. Soren was his husband, Mist was his sister, Boyd was his irreverent friend, he didn’t take Gatrie seriously at all, Shinon didn’t take _him_ seriously at all… And critiquing Titania and Oscar was like critiquing his parents.

“You’re basically perfect,” Ike told Titania as he looked at the checklist. She smiled at him indulgently, completely confident in her job security. “Professional, prompt, gets along well with others, and keeps up with demands. Nothing but good things.”

She chuckled. “Thanks, Commander.”

“Please don’t do anything that ever makes me have to reprimand you,” Ike blurted, and it made her laugh.

“Agreed. Have you seen any more evidence of assassins, after the experience in town?”

“How did you know about that?”

“Shinon told me.”

Ike took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I told him not to tell.”

“You told him not to tell _Soren,”_ she corrected. “He found your oversight amusing, even more so that he never talks to Soren anyway. But regardless, I believe we’re up to two assassination attempts. Is that it?”

“Yeah, as far as I know. Although I think the brothers reported they got messed with by someone.” Ike shrugged. “It’s hard to know, but hey, no one else has gotten hurt.” And Volke was on the case, not that Titania knew that. Ike still felt oddly guilty.

“It’s possible more attempts would have been made, but since no one is ever alone they didn’t feel confident,” she mused. “Doesn’t matter. You’re right, everyone’s safe.” She gave him that sincere look, the one that made him think of her like a big sister. “Do you have time for a walk with me?”

Oh boy, she wanted to talk about feelings. Normally he would be more averse, but frankly he could use some actual moral support. “Sure.” They left the office. It was a little chilly – well, not for Ike, but he knew Soren would be cold. “Can we find Soren? I want to make sure he’s okay.”

Titania chuckled. “You’re turning into your father. He also was very aware of his loved ones’ needs.” Her smile turned bittersweet and Ike grimaced. “Overprotective. Granted Elena was indulgent, and Soren typically isn’t. But… Greil was very proud of you. And he _would_ be.”

Ike’s grimace became harder. “Uh, thanks. So. Uh.”

She looked concerned. “What’s wrong?”

Ike admired his dad, no question about it. And normally the comparisons made him happy. But that night terror was still stuck under the surface of his brain. “Eh, don’t worry. Let’s just talk about you. How’s…”

Then his eyebrows shot up as he watched a tiger walk over to them. There was a time when that wouldn’t have surprised him, when in fact it had been downright normal, but that time had passed about two years ago. By the time he had been about to tell Titania there was someone approaching, she’d already been primed and she spun, punching a newly untransformed Kyza in the jaw.

The man let out a high-pitched scream. “My face! My beautiful face!”

“Not again! Sorry!” She winced and handed him a vulnerary.

“Again?” Ike had to ask.

“Long story.”

“Lyre said you were aggressive in your refusal to return our beloved Ranulf, but I assumed she was exaggerating!” He glared at them both. “I demand you release your hold on him! And again apologize for breaking my face!”

“What the heck are you talking about?”

“ _Somehow_ he has been _bewitched_ and is now part of this pride of hooligans,” Kyza sniffed. “Neither of you resemble the scary alpha that Lyre mentioned though… Regardless, where is my Ranulf?”

“Everything you just said seems like it was a different language,” Ike admitted, having no idea what was going on.

“Ranulf went into town to get more tea,” Titania said, and Ike was even more confused now – not because of where Ranulf was, that made sense as he needed to restock – because Titania’s face was steadily turning red. “Directly east from here, can’t miss it.”

Kyza huffed. “Very well. If I save Ranulf I will forgive you.” He transformed again and left.

Ike looked at her. “He did not go east, he went south.”

“He seems to be avoiding going home,” Titania admitted, her face turning redder. “Lyre was here a month or two ago and he actively hid. I figured Kyza wouldn’t be wanted either.”

“Why are you blushing so hard?”

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing!” 

This was weird. Titania’s default state was “calm and dependable,” and he had seen her _really_ angry exactly once. This blushing, confused Titania was just… wrong, and he wanted it to go away. “Okay. Uh. Oh, right, I was going to find Soren-” He glanced around and felt a jolt of panic. Soren was sitting on a bench, visibly red and covered in a sheen of sweat. Mia was standing over him. Ike felt his world rocked a little harder as he ran over. He didn’t miss Titania’s sigh of relief though.

“You’re actually really talented, you just don’t have the physicality to back it up yet!” Mia was saying. “But wow! Some of those moves – I can tell you watch Ike and Stefan fight, you definitely picked up some things from them!”

Ike knelt by Soren, able to see now this was the expression of someone exhausted but pleased. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“Nothing’s wrong!” Mia cheered. “I was teaching Soren some sword moves and she – he is actually really good!” 

Soren gave Ike a thumbs up. “Practice.” 

Ike looked between the two of them. “You practiced sword stuff with Mia and not me?” he asked, trying not to feel hurt.

Soren chuckled and rested his head on his arm. He was still breathing heavily but getting it under control. “I knew it. Mia had a point, my magic is being fickle, I should be able to defend myself other ways. And we were stuck together anyway.”

“I’m always right,” said Mia with pride. Then she grinned, cat-like. “Plus now we can bond over how fun it is to eat the eye-candy!” she crooned before running away.

Ike stared at her leaving form, then looked back to Soren. “What is she talking about?”

“Nothing,” Soren said quickly. 

He thought back to what he’d overheard. He blushed a little, because it was always nice to have validation that Soren thought he was hot (although Ike knew it, because Soren made it very, very clear) but then had to say, “Wait, you watched _Stefan_ too?!” 

* * *

_October 15th:_

Titania had a problem now, and she knew it. It had been two weeks since Ranulf’s quasi-confession, and she still hadn’t really processed it. But she didn’t _really_ understand how bad it was until Shinon of all people pulled her aside.

“Do I need to kill the cat man?” he asked bluntly, making her eyebrows shoot up in shock.

“No! Why would you think that?”

“Because every time you see him or someone mentions him you start blushing,” he said, not looking impressed. “It’s weird and it needs to stop.”

“That’s not true,” Titania retorted, feeling her cheeks turn red.

“You’re literally blushing right now.”

“Shut up!”

“Again, do I need to kill him? Because you can do better.”

Titania glared at him. “No! No killing anyone.”

“I can scare him off,” Shinon offered.

She shook her head. “No, it’s not a problem. Just stay out of it.”

He regarded her thoughtfully. “Titania. You are a badass on the field, and a good deputy commander . I’d pick you over Ike any day. But you’re acting like a little girl with a crush, and it’s weird. You need to get laid.”

“My personal life is none of your business!” she snapped at him, and oh goddess her face felt like it was on fire. 

“Just sayin’, maybe go for it. If he sucks in the sack, come find me and I can show you a good time. And Gatrie’s wanted to tap you since the first day he saw you, and I’m pretty sure Boyd wouldn’t say no although he’d be screwed if Mist found out. Rhys has been pining for _years_ . Hey, even Mia probably would say yes if your tastes swing that way, I don’t judge.” He shrugged. “But do _something_ because this,” he gestured to her with a finger, “is just _wrong_.” He sauntered off.

What.

What the _fuck_.

Just happened??

* * *

_October 21st:_

In the middle of the night, there was a loud siren wailing through the air. It woke Ike and Soren up instantly. Ike already had Ragnell in his hand in the seconds between the noise and Shinon’s voice stating, “Up and at ‘em! We’re under siege!”

“We’re what?” Soren echoed as he grabbed the closest tome.

“Stay close,” Ike instructed, grabbing Alondite too just in case. When seeing he was going to, he followed Shinon out to the ramparts.

Everyone gathered quickly, weapons in their hands but still wearing their sleeping clothes. Ike was impressed at their timely response and made a mental note to give everyone a raise. But with the high view, it was obvious that yes, there was an army marching on them.

“Well that’s a definite escalation of hostilities,” Titania said, scowling. “Can anyone make out a banner or details yet?”

“Shiny gold and white, so Begnion,” Ranulf said, squinting, getting groans out of pretty much everyone else.

“Let’s be honest, we knew it was going to be from Daein or Begnion,” Soren said dryly.

Ike had to take a couple breaths to get his temper under control. “After this I’m sending another bill to Sanaki,” he decided. “She needs to get her people in line. And pay me for killing off whoever was dumb enough to take us on.”

“Ten gold says it’s a senator,” Rolf offered. No one took him up on that bet.

A large ball of fire flung out from the approaching army. Soren swung his arm and the winds knocked it off course, making it crash into the wilds. “Not particularly strong,” he observed, “but the distance was impressive. So yes, this is likely a senator of some kind. Hopefully one of the older ones who didn’t bother showing up against us in the War.”

“You’re not getting points for getting it right,” Boyd said to his little brother, who stuck his tongue out in response.

“All right everyone, you know the drill. Emergency siege procedures. Move out!” Ike felt a little nervous just from the sheer amount of people marching. He tried to compare it to the past and yep, it was pretty huge even considering the things they’ve dealt with before. 

But they were seasoned warriors and they’d practiced, damn it. Sort of. 

* * *

Soren had his long-distance tomes ready as he stood on the highest point of the fort. This was his part to play in any sieges: stay up high, rain down magic on enemies, and keep an eye open for any changes that would necessitate plan alterations. Ike was his backup, using Ragnell’s long-range attacks on anyone who got too close to the fort, while simultaneously keeping him safe and putting any changes into place.

At first, everything was going as well as could be expected. That changed when a pegasus knight approached from the east with enough stealth that Soren didn’t see her in time to do more than attack at close range. 

This, of course, caused a collision.

_“Papa! Papa, Priam says he won’t play with me!”_

_Soren looks up from his tome to see a little boy, around six, and a little girl, around four, running towards him. His eyebrow quirks in amusement. “And what did you want to play?”_

_These two children are very obviously Ike’s, both with his coloring (albeit the boy’s is a shade darker) and energy. “I wanted to train and he won’t train with me!”_

_“You’re too little and a girl!” the boy, Priam, protests. “I’m not playing, I’m really training so I can use Aether like Daddy does!”_

_“I wanna do it too!”_

_“And what has Daddy said about that?” Soren asks his daughter with amusement._

_She stops making eye contact with him. “That I, Misania Elena Greil, am a sword-training prodigy and can totally use real swords and train with him and anyone else, and that girls are awesome.”_

_Soren doesn’t grace that with a response._

_“Or… maybe he said I’m too young so I’m not allowed to train except with him or Auntie Titania,” she says, and it seems even her long twin tails droop in sadness. Then she gets her argumentative spark back. “But Priam’s only two years older than me! It’s not fair!”_

_His response is cut off when he sees something on the other side of the courtyard. A boy is standing by a mud puddle, perched on his toes and watching something in horror. This child is undoubtedly his son, with large green-black curls, dark red eyes and that distinctive birthmark. There is a plush rabbit, well-worn, in a mud puddle._

_“Twinsie!” Mia gasps, moving to run to him, but Soren catches her before she can. For his part, Soren feels hot anger. There is a man, a former client, walking away from his son, and what happened is obvious. Soren moves to rectify this but he’s too slow; Ike walks so fast he may as well be running as he approaches the nobleman and knocks him into the mud._

_“You do_ **_not_ ** _do that to children, especially_ **_my_ ** _child!” Ike snarls, and Soren can’t remember the last time he’s seen him so angry. He steps on the head of the nobleman, who struggles to push him off._

_“He’s a boy!” the man protests._

_“As if that matters! He’s a child and can play with what he wants!_ ** _You_** **_will apologize to my son, and you will pay for Isolde to get cleaned.”_**

****

_“That’s preposterous!”_

_“_ **_Y o u w i l l.”_ ** _Ike presses down harder, all but burying the man’s head in the muck. Soren starts to walk over, followed by his other two spawnlings. The man manages to throw a bag of gold in Ike’s direction, indicating compliance. Ike raises his foot._

_“Sorry,” the man hisses as he scrambles to his feet and runs._

_Ike softens immediately as he gently picks the soft blue rabbit from the grime. “I’m sorry that guy was horrible, Lucien, but we’ll get her special cleaned, okay?”_

_The boy is wiping tears from his face with long sleeves, still emotionally piqued and standing on his toes. Although he is the girl’s twin, he looks younger, more delicate. “I - I - Daddy I love you so much I'm so sorry I'm bad at being a boy but but you said I'm your son and you know the name of my bunny and you defended me and and and!" This is all too much, he starts to cry hard and he runs to glomp his beloved daddy._

_Ike glomps him back. "I love you too, Squeaker. You are my son and you are_ **_not_ ** _bad at it. Everyone is different and that's okay.” He smiles at the rest of his approaching family. Soren’s heart hurts in the best way._

_"Even though I don’t eat a lot, cry too much, suck my thumb, love plushies and blankets, don't use weapons, and am not a leader?" Lucien asks through tears. At this point everyone is together, and the other children hug their brother too._

_"Even then," Ike says. "I will always love you for you."_

_Lucien smiles at him, still crying. "I love you too Daddy! Now I have to wash poor Isolde because she's all muddy!" He smiles up at his papa as Soren wipes his face. How could he have ever thought he would hate this child just for inheriting his curse? He adores all of his children._

_“Ewww,” Priam adds, looking at the muddy rabbit._

_Ike smiles. "We'll take her to get laundered."_

_Lucien smiles back. "I don't know what that means but can we do it now please, I don't know how I'll sleep by myself!" He giggles damply. "Mia moves in her sleep so Isolde is much better for sleeping with!"_

_“Hey!” But Mia doesn’t seem angry at all, although she rarely ever is anything but thrilled._

_Ike grins bigger. "Sure."_

Soren woke up, vision blurry, and it took a few seconds for his thoughts to come back. Right, a siege from Begnion, including getting hit in the face by a dying winged horse. Shit, no wonder he’d started to hallucinate.

(Or have a vision of the future? He would accept that future, gladly. It seemed rather… perfect. Although what kind of name was Misania? Oh, a portmanteau of Mist and Titania. … … … Better than Ikea.)

He was in a corner of a mostly-trashed room, Ike kneeling in front of him. “Oh thank the g - you’re awake!” 

Soren scowled because Ike was obviously injured and, now that he looked, he could see corpses. “How long was I out?”

“Not that long. We need to regroup, can you walk? If I have to carry you I will so don’t push yourself.” He helped him stand up, and Soren tested his feet under him.

“Yes, I can walk.” Everything hurt and the baby was kicking wildly, but he was steadier than he had thought he would be.

“Okay. Stay close to me. I won’t let anything else hurt you.” Ike began the walk. 

It never ceased to impress Soren just how big Ike was, and yet how surprisingly graceful. The way he fluidly moved, swinging Ragnell around like it was a sword a quarter of its size as he quickly dispatched a legion of soldiers in the hallway, was just breathtaking to watch. Mia may have teased Soren over it, but watching Ike fight was highly enjoyable for a number of reasons. And right now having that well-trained warrior between his unborn baby and danger was thrilling and reassuring. 

But Soren was not one to just let Ike do all the work, even though once again his magic was not being cooperative. The good news was they passed by Rhys’ quarters, and Soren darted in to steal one of his healing staves. It worked, thankfully, although with more effort than he usually needed to use. Still, watching the slashes on Ike’s arms heal was gratifying. 

Ike was purely in angry, serious mode. “I told you to stay close!”

“And I am going to do what I need to keep us safe,” he retorted. “Don’t stop trusting me now, Ike.”

“I-” He bit his tongue. “You’re right. Sorry. Let’s go.” 

Soren followed him as he began to walk again. Turning down another hallway got another group of soldiers to charge them, and Soren managed a gust of wind strong enough to knock some of them off their feet. A far cry from how he could usually tear them apart, but better than he expected. It gave Ike the perfect opportunity to run forward and begin cutting into the confused, chaotic enemy. Soren could recall a time Ike had balked at killing, but this was long past. 

One soldier scrambled up, closer to Soren than Ike. Soren wasn’t worried at all even as the lone fighter attacked. He dodged a clumsy axe swing and stabbed the guy with a heal staff… so, more like poked him really hard in the neck… but it still made him make a gratifying noise of pain. Priam was being distractingly kicky, but Soren tuned him out as he began to beat his attacker with the staff. 

Ike turned to face him with wide eyes, although by the time he raced back over the man was already unconscious. “I’m fine,” he assured Ike quickly. 

“I’m sorry!”

“Seriously, you just killed like thirty people and I got _one_ , you have nothing to be sorry about!” Soren snapped at him. 

“He shouldn’t have gotten past me!” Ike argued right back.

Boyd, Rolf and Oscar ran up to them, thankfully interrupting more banter. All three were bloody and winded, but appeared to be mostly unharmed. “Are we regrouping?” Boyd asked. “Please tell me we’re regrouping!”

Soren took a split second to think about it before deciding what needed to be done next. “Agreed. Everyone should fall back to the mess hall.” He tried to activate the magical siren that would signify the tactical retreat, but nothing happened. “Damn it, just start yelling!”

Ike barked the order and started walking again, the brothers and Soren falling into place behind him with Oscar serving as the rear defense. A loud feline shriek sounded through the fort, making the hair on the back of Soren’s neck stand up. At first he was worried that it was a sign of Ranulf being gravely injured, but instead the cat ran down another hallway and toward the mess hall.

“He must have been acting as the alarm,” Oscar guessed. “I’m sure everyone heard _that_.”

“Agreed.” 

It didn’t take much time before everyone was present. Everyone looked tired and roughed up, but Soren noted all wounds were relatively minor even as he, Rhys and Mist healed everyone anyway. They always had extra healing staves, _always_. All doors were locked, although it didn’t take long for pounding to begin on the large entrance. 

“We should all push the table against the back doors to prevent us being flanked,” Soren said, eying the massive rectangular piece of furniture that took up a huge area. “The doors open inwards so that will block them well enough, and force them to come in through one way.”

“Um, why not block the main door, since they’re already trying to come in that way?” Rolf asked with hesitation. Most of the team was used to not questioning Soren’s tactics, but frankly it made him feel a little better that someone was. It helped get his thoughts out. “If we can even move the table at all!”

Soren shook his head. “We can’t handle a siege lasting long-term. We have to break their morale or decimate their forces, because otherwise they’ll just starve us in here. There is no backup and no way to send any message out for help, and even if we could, no one is close enough in enough numbers to actually be of use.” He looked to Ike. “So we force them to come in one way, and anyone who comes in dies.”

Ike nodded. “All right everyone, you heard the plan. Gatrie, you block the way in, in case anyone gets through before we’re done. Everyone who isn’t pregnant or Gatrie, start pushing the table!”

Soren was miffed for a second before deciding that he was happier not having to push. “I’m pregnant too!” Ranulf said, earning glares from the others. “Okay fine, geez. I’ll push.”

“Once the battle starts, Ranulf, your job will be to sneak out in the chaos and find the enemy commander,” Soren said as he watched the door and the team, looking back and forth. He gave him a thumbs-up. “Everyone else needs to just do what we do best – kill assholes.”

“You’d think the world would be out of them by now considering we’ve killed so many already!” Mia observed with a helpless laugh. Even with the entire team pushing, the table was still moving slowly.

“Nah, as long as Shinon’s here the world will always have at least one,” Boyd “joked.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind the next time I could save your life,” Shinon scoffed. 

“Just proving my point!”

The front door burst open, pieces of debris hitting Gatrie’s armor and bouncing off harmlessly. The hallway was packed, and Soren felt his heart sink. “I am an unmovable wall,” Gatrie muttered, fist clenched on his lance and as he moved into defensive position. When the first brave soul charged through the broken door, Gatrie stabbed him in the chest. 

Soren tried to use magic but only managed a few bursts of fire and a single, albeit powerful, gust of wind. He grabbed an actual sword off one of Gatrie’s corpses, trying to recall Ike, Stefan and Mia’s various mini lessons on swordsmanship. The blade was too heavy for long-term use and it slowed him down enough that someone finally hit him, a slash across the chest, but it was more gratifying to kill someone with a quick blade than it was to beat them with a heal staff.

Still he tossed the blade aside as he healed some minor wounds that Gatrie had gotten. The residual energies fixed the slash on him too, although his robes would need mended and the blood cleaned out. 

If they lived that long, of course. 

When the others had finished pushing the table, Ike sprinted between him and his newest assailant. Soren was tired just watching Ike, frankly, but Ike seemed to be running on adrenaline and didn’t look tired at all as he reentered the fray. No one got past him this time, which was all the more impressive because there were significantly more people trying to kill them. 

But this wasn’t the team’s first foray into battle, and it wouldn’t be the last. Ike, Gatrie, Boyd, Oscar, Mia and Titania held the front line with support from Soren, Rhys, Mist, Shinon and Rolf. Priam was kicking so hard he likely thought he was contributing. Ranulf was out hunting, as per his assignment.

The first soldier to flee set a precedent, and the battle ended with the enemy retreating. It was none too soon, given the state that the team was in – exhausted physically and mentally – but no one was dead. 

Ike hugged Soren tightly, and then ran a bloody hand through his own hair. “Damn, you guys. You’re all amazing.” 

“We should probably go check on Ranulf, right?” Boyd panted out, leaning on his axe.

As if in response, Ranulf trotted in, transformed and dragging a man with him by his clothes. He deposited the resisting person in front of Titania before sitting, looking smug. 

“Who the hell are you?” Ike demanded.

“I am Senator Cloven Deville,” the man spat. “The Empress of Begnion will have your head when she learns about this!”

“Rebuffed client,” Titania said, looking faintly embarrassed. 

“You turned away a Senator of Begnion, and he decided to try to kill us all in retaliation?” Soren translated. “This is… not that surprising, honestly.”

“Okay, seriously, is it a requirement for you senators to be evil?” Ike asked the guy. “Never mind, don’t answer that. I don’t care. Were you also the one sending assassins?”

“Assassins? I would do no such thing! I have _high standards_.” Senator Cloven Deville looked pretty cocky for a guy who was surrounded by people he’d almost successfully murdered. “Now send your ransom to the Empress and I am sure she will pay handsomely for me. I’m important.”

Soren scoffed at that. “First of all, Sanaki wouldn’t pay ten gold pieces for you. She’d probably pay us to keep you. Second, do you really think you’ll be allowed to live after the stunt you pulled?” He looked to Ike. “I see no reason why he needs to survive.”

“Ditto,” Ike said, even as the man began to yell his protests. Titania, Mist, Rhys and Rolf covered their eyes as Ike killed him. “I was hoping that would be more fulfilling, and that he would also be responsible for the assassinations. But at least we won. How’s Priam?”

“A pain in my ass, but that’s hardly unusual,” Soren said. The movement in his womb had settled down since the danger was gone, thankfully, although Soren was pretty sure he was going to have another fainting spell. 

Ranulf cleared his throat. When they all looked to him, he transformed back. “You’re welcome, by the way. To repay me, I don’t want to help clean. And can I say you might be the least lucky group of people I’ve ever met? And I’m a laguz! We know bad luck!” 

“Aw man, I don’t wanna clean either!” Mia protested.

“Everyone is going to clean,” Ike informed them both, “After water and a nap. A long, _long_ nap.”


	5. November

_ November 2nd: _

Ike marched into the dining chambers as a man who had successfully completed a major mission. Nearly everyone looked up from their respective meals but Ike only had eyes for Soren as he placed his offerings on the table and gestured to them with his hands. “All for you,” he said with some pride, because he had been gone for many, many hours getting all of it.

Soren had had a craving, for something sour and juicy. He didn’t know what, but nothing they had was good enough. So Ike had gone on a quest to find something acceptable.

“Did you buy the entire farm?” Soren asked, pushing aside his bowl of completely-untouched stew. 

“Yes.” Ike was exhausted but sat by Soren with a knife. “Which do you want to try first?”

“I can cut it myself,” he said with fond exasperation even as he handed Ike an orange, knowing this was not a fight he could win. 

Ranulf took Soren’s bowl even as he scooted away, clearly repelled by the fruits on display. “Welcome back. No thank you.”

Ike cut the orange, inordinately pleased with himself as he handed a slice over. Soren bit into it with a thoughtful expression. “Not quite hitting the spot but definitely better than anything else,” he mused as he ate. Mia reached for a tangerine and Soren slapped her hand away, making her pout.

“Man Ike you are  _ whipped,”  _ said Boyd with a laugh. 

“No, I’m a thoughtful and considerate husband and father,” Ike retorted. “You could learn from my example.”

“If we ever have kids, you’d better step up as much as Ike has, if not more,” Mist agreed. 

Boyd made a very weird face, one of pain and embarrassment. 

“How could I do  _ more? _ ” Ike demanded of his sister, annoyed she was harshing his victory buzz.

“Considering you two did this with magic,  _ you _ could have carried the baby, Mr. Big Strong Muscle Man,” she pointed out.

Ike winced, because he’d had that thought a number of times. Soren shook his head as he finished off a piece of grapefruit. “No. To both that idea and to the grapefruit being the craving source. How many times do I need to explain this to people?  _ I  _ did it because  _ I’m _ not the one fighting in close combat for a job. It makes no sense to force Ike to relearn how to swing a sword based on what stage of pregnancy he’s in, only to have to unlearn it all when the baby’s born and weened.” 

Ike nodded, although since he knew (or assumed) he’d be having an easier time than Soren, the logic didn’t feel completely redeeming. Still Oscar changed the subject by sitting with Soren next. “Now I’m curious what the answer is,” he admitted even as Soren moved on to a lemon. “Can I use what you don’t eat?”

“If there is any,” Soren agreed. “Not quite.”

“ _ WHO THREW OUT MY VODKA?” _

With that mighty yell the recently-repaired doors to the mess hall burst open and a very angry, shockingly sober Shinon stormed in. “ _ Soren! _ Just because you got knocked up doesn’t mean I can’t get drunk!”

Soren gave him an unimpressed look as he ate from a starfruit. “I’m not married to you, I don’t care what you drink.” And Ike didn’t drink (thanks Shinon, for turning him off that  _ forever _ ) so the point was moot. 

He faltered in his righteous (?) fury. “Rolf?!”

“Not me!” the boy (okay no, Rolf was in his late teens, but in Ike’s heart he was still a kid) defended, hands up. “I know better than to do anything to Uncle Shinon’s Angry Juice.”

He was somewhat placated by that, which Ike felt was kind of sad. “ _ Gatrie?” _

Gatrie placed a hand on his heart. “My friend, I have known you for  _ years _ ! Why would I  _ ever?”  _

“I… I don’t know why anyone would harm my poor defenseless alcohol,” Shinon grumbled, “but I  _ will _ find out who it was and I  _ will _ have my revenge!”

Ike was fleetingly relieved he had an alibi - this was not a headache he wanted - but all thoughts of the situation fled when Soren let out a positively scandalous moan upon eating a slice of lime. Then he licked the juices from his fingers, and Ike was rather harshly reminded that he hadn’t had sex in well over a month. 

It was a fact he tried to remind himself of. Soren was five months pregnant and frequently uncomfortable and he  _ could hurt him and  _ -

The concern went away with a tongue in his mouth that tasted tartly of lime juice. Soren had Ike’s tunic bunched in a fist and was giving him pure bedroom eyes. “No one touch my fruit; I’ll be back later for it,” he said, addressing everyone but looking right at Ike. “You deserve a reward.”

“I would like one!“ Ike blurted.  _ Soren’s always hardier than I give him credit for _ , he reasoned.

Soren dragged Ike to their room. 

* * *

_ November 3rd: _

_ Ike grips the hilt of Urvan, grits his teeth, and charges. _

__

_ He’s going to die. He knows he’s going to die. All of his instincts are triggered and alert, knowing that the end is near. He is outclassed in this fight, and has no backup. If he had his sword, he could have defeated the Black Knight, but his arms ache and Urvan is a fine axe, but not enough.  _

__

**_He_ ** _ is not enough. _

__

_ The Black Knight blocks his swings, although Ike manages to also dodge a retaliation. There is movement from the corner of his eye and he hazards a glance. He fleetingly hopes for a second that it’s one of the others, someone who can help, but he’s horrified to see it’s Priam. _

__

_ “Stay back!” he snarls at his son. _

__

_ Priam looks terrified but determined. “Dad! I can-” _

__

Ike woke up with a pain in his chest, but otherwise calm. Soren was asleep in his arms, peaceful. Ike’s arms twitched, but he forced gentleness as he pet him, surreptitiously searching for signs of life. Perfectly fine and healthy. Deep in sleep, considering it was still dark outside and their night had been very… active.

He buried his face in the crook of Soren’s neck, breathing deep, trying to calm himself. He could handle dreams about his death. They were preferable, actually. He’d just never had  _ this _ dream from  _ that _ perspective. 

What a terrible way to die. As if he didn’t already have enough pity for his father! 

He placed his hand on the bump. He would not let anything happen to his child.

He tried to make a to-do list in his head. They’d already cleared out all the corpses and sent an explanation letter to Sanaki, but the fort still needed repairs from the failed siege. He wanted to go into town today and inquire after “the fireman,” considering yesterday Ranulf brought a dead assassin and left it outside their door like a cat with a gift mouse. And –

He felt something press against his hand, and he smiled. It was a teeny tiny foot. Priam was always on the move nowadays, as if to say to the world that he was here and he was ready to face them all four months early. Soren was surprisingly patient except for Priam’s insistence on kicking his bladder. Well… more patient than Ike would likely be, anyway.

He forced his mind to shut off as he rubbed that foot with his thumb.  _ I’m in bed, in the fort. Everyone is safe. Live in the moment, everything is fine.  _

__

_ And I’ll keep it that way. _

__

* * *

_ November 8th:  _

It was hot outside, an odd situation for November but one that Soren was more than ready for. The blessed heat was warming up his dark clothes as he sat in the courtyard, giving him the sense of warmth he was constantly craving but rarely attaining. It was magical and amazing and wonderful, and this day was perfect.

“You! Stand up!”

Soren blinked in surprise and turned to see who was addressing him. “What… Lethe?”

Yes it was Lethe, the cat woman glaring and holding a crossbow pointed right at him. Her face of rage faltered for a split second before it returned more intensely. “I should have known,” she spat. “Where is Ranulf!”

She wasn’t moving the crossbow. In fact her finger was on the trigger.

“He’s taking a nap,” Soren said, trying to keep as calm as possible. He and Lethe had no love between them, and if he had a tome he would have happily killed the laguz, but all that meant was he was very much in danger despite knowing his assailant. 

“Lethe! Point that at me!”

Both Lethe and Soren looked to see Ike walking toward them. Lethe’s entire demeanor changed. “Ike?!”

“Either put that away or point it at me,” Ike said again, his stride confident and visage pissed off, “because if you hurt Soren  _ I will murder you _ .”

Lethe looked shocked but she complied, pointing it at Ike instead. This made Soren feel worse, his heart begin to beat faster. “It – this changes nothing, you’re both traitors – tell me where you’ve hidden Ranulf, and if he’s hurt-“

Ike was in front of Soren now, meaning he couldn’t see anything but his back and broad shoulders. He pressed up against him, wrapping his arms around him as if Soren could shield him the way Ike was shielding him. 

“He’s inside taking a nap,” Ike snapped. “I don’t know what the hell you think is going on here but I really don’t care. Ranulf showed up a few months ago.”

The blue panther ran out from the fort and jumped between Lethe and Ike before transforming back. “What the hell is the matter with you people!” he demanded of her. “Can’t I go on vacation without being hunted down!”

“You-” Lethe spluttered, her obvious relief quickly changing to fury. “You’re not on vacation! You left the castle with no word, what were we supposed to think?!”

“I left a letter!”

“No you didn’t!”

“Yes I – oh wait no, I didn’t, because I didn’t want anyone knowing where I was going. But still! I’m amazing, how come the first thought everyone had was ‘he’s been kidnapped?’”

“Ranulf!” Ike roared at him, making his ears droop, “No wonder everyone keeps trying to find you, you idiot!”

At this point Soren had no choice but to laugh into Ike’s back. He laughed even harder when Titania stormed over and punched Lethe square in the face.

* * *

_ November 5th: _

Soren stared at the cup of tea in his hand. On the plus side, it was warm, and he was cold as the weather had finally begun acting like it was winter. On the minus side, it was the tea and he hated it. 

Mist, Rhys and Ranulf all traded off days in getting him to drink it. Soren always refused, because it was gross, although he always eventually gave in, because it was very helpful. Rhys usually had the hardest time because he was too nice and Soren could just run right over him in conversation. Mist found it easier because she was almost as stubborn as Soren was. Ranulf had the easiest time because he would transform and his ears were adorable but Soren wasn’t allowed to pet them until he drank some. Unfair.

Today was Mist’s turn. “You fainted again after the siege was over,” she said accusingly, hands on her hips. “You know this is good for you and for the baby.”

“Everyone fainted after that battle!” Soren protested. If the cup weren’t warming his hand, he’d just dump it. He was eating orange slices in the other and that hand was cold, regrettably. “I feel  _ fine _ , I don’t need this gods-forsaken tea!”

“Drink the tea!”

“No!”

“Soren --- do you have a middle name?”

“No.”

“Dang. Soren Greil, drink the tea!”

“No-” The cup and orange fell from his hands as he covered his belly with a wince. “Ow, what?”

Mist gasped. “Oh! Oh no! No you don’t, nephew mine, not on my watch!” She pulled out her midwife bag, searching for something. 

Pain shot through his abdomen. It was bearable in comparison to things he’d experienced before, but alarming. “Wait  _ what?” _

“This happens sometimes – I was warned that you’re kind of at risk for it because of how much he’s been moving and how hard this has been, plus how you’re so small.” She pulled out a salve and a packet of dried herbs. “We need to get you on bedrest, and use these to help calm your body.”

“Bedrest?” Soren echoed, the prospect almost as painful as the cramping.

Mist took his arm and started dragging him to bed. “At least for now! I get he’s impatient, just like his daddy, but four months is too early!”

“You think I’m actually going into labor right now?” Soren demanded, his brain finally catching up. As if to answer, there was a stronger clenching that made him almost cry out. “Okay you might be right!”

They got back to Soren’s bedroom and he quickly moved into bed. Mist, never one to be overly concerned about such things, pulled open Soren’s robes matter-of-factly and began to rub the salve on the bump. “This should help calm things down.” 

Soren’s heart rate went through the roof as it all hit him at once exactly what was going on. “No way I am  _ not _ ready!”

Mist nodded, her look of determination very similar to her brother’s. “No one is, not even him, even if he thinks so! Titania said that Ike was early, but this is way too early.” She dropped the leaves in another cup - backup in case Soren purposefully spilled the tea, which had happened plenty of times - and handed it to Soren. “Here, drink this too.”

Between the salve and the herbs, everything settled down. Soren felt an artificial calm settle over him, even as he glared at his little spawnling. “What a pain in the ass you are,” he accused. “You’d better be the best-behaved newborn of all time.”

“I’ll talk with Rhys, but you’re likely going to have to stay off your feet for the rest of the pregnancy,” Mist admitted. 

Soren groaned, although it was hard to keep his eyes open. “Just kill me now, why don’t you?”

Mist giggled. “I’m glad you still have your sense of humor. You take a nap and I’m going to tell everyone.” 

He yawned. “Don’t you… dare…”

* * *

_ November 8th: _

Keeping Soren off his feet was proving to be easier than making him take the tea, but only because it was really easy to pick him up and carry him places. Despite being heavily pregnant he was still pretty light, especially considering all the people in the fort who were professional warriors. Granted, anyone not named Ike was just as likely to get a heal staff to the skull if they tried. 

Even Ike didn’t get to do it without hearing complaints. “This is degrading! I’m not an invalid!” Soren snapped as Ike carried him to his office. 

“You’re lucky I’m not locking you in the bedroom,” he replied evenly, used to it. “We - oh, uh.” He stopped in the doorway because Volke was sitting in the office, with some guy’s head on a platter.

“This was Senator Nickolai Blackheart,” Volke said, “You all spared him when trashing his camp, and he repaid you by putting out a hit. And so, here he is.”

“Ike,” said Soren, “put me down.”

“No,” said Ike.

“Suit yourself.” Soren threw up on him.

* * *

_ November 20th: _

“Uh… hey Ike…”

It was even colder now, more typical for the time of year, and Ike was hoping whatever Boyd wanted could be discussed while they finished the repairs to the outside of the fort. Next on the list was renovating one of the older wings so they could have a nursery, not that he was telling Soren that because it was going to be an awesome surprise. “Yeah?” 

“So uh…” His friend looked uneasy, and Ike knew then it had to be something to do with Mist. “Let’s say… hypothetically speaking… I was gonna ask your sister to marry me. What would you do?”

Yep, called it. Ever since the bruhaha where Rolf and Boyd got into a fist-fight about it at Ike and Soren’s wedding, Ike had been expecting Boyd to make a move. “I would marvel at how somehow you both could do better, and say ‘good luck with that.’”

Boyd grinned widely, clearly at ease now. “You think I can do better?”

“Than someone who nags constantly and butts into everything? Absolutely. But can she do better than Oscar Two? Also yes.”

That got him a punch on the arm, but Ike felt no regrets. “Hey man I am way too good to be Oscar Two!”

“No you’re not!” Ike scoffed. “If it makes you feel any better, Rolf barely qualifies as Oscar Three!”

Boyd laughed and punched Ike on the arm again. “Finally one thing you said that I can agree with! So… so you’re okay then? If I did?”

He nodded. “Listen, I’m not one of those crazy ‘don’t you dare show interest in my sister’ types. I just want everyone to be happy, and for some reason you two make each other happy. You don’t need my blessing, but you have it. Count yourself lucky because my dad was overprotective of her.”

“Don’t I know it!” Boyd’s smile was huge, the biggest Ike had ever seen on him. “Rolf never got a talking-to from the old boss but I sure did. Your old man could be the nicest guy but also the scariest guy. Kind of like you!”

Hot damn, did everyone need to keep pointing out he was like his dad? It was starting to hurt. Still Ike faked nonchalance. “I am honored you find me scary.”

“Eh, you’re not as scary as Soren is,” Boyd admitted. Then his eyes went wide in terror. “Oh shit, that weapon request form needed to be sent into town yesterday!” He ran, a full sprint, back into the fort.

Ike laughed, he couldn’t help it. 

* * *

_ November 30th: _

“Oh Prrriiiiiaaaaaam it’s your favorite uuuuncleee!” Ranulf crooned as he walked into the bedroom. Soren was awake as he went over the ledgers, feet propped up and eating some limes. “I got you a preeeeseeeeent!”

  
  


“He can’t heeeeear yooooooou, he’s a feeeeeetus,” Soren sang back, not looking up, corner of his mouth twitching in amusement. 

  
  


“Sure he can!” Ranulf placed his satchel down by the bed. “He just can’t answer back yet. But someday soon!”

  
  


“Later rather than sooner, hopefully. March if the timing is right, but frankly I will be happy to make it to February. He doesn’t seem to be interested in staying in his free accommodations, the ungrateful jerk.”

  
Ranulf grinned. “Count yourself lucky either way, because beorc gestation is a lot shorter than laguz! Ena had Rajaion’s baby four years after he died… granted I think dragons can choose that kind of thing? Well I sure hope so, otherwise she was pregnant for  _ four years! _ ”

  
  


Soren’s brow furrowed a smidge, but Ranulf was very observant and picked up on it.

  
  


“I hope you know it’s never bothered me,” he said quickly. “That you’re Parentless. Literally and figuratively. Don’t get me wrong, you were a huge jerk when we first met, but you had your reasons and I get that. I hope I’ve done some good to help rehab the beast tribe in your eyes, at least a little.”

  
  


Soren’s hands began to shake as he stared at the ledger resting on his baby bump. “How long have you known?” he asked quietly.

  
  


“It’s really obvious to us, so only beorc thought you were, what’s it called, a spirit charmer,” Ranulf explained. “It’s like… a sense. This sort of weird… it’s really hard to describe. It’s just… like it’s like, you smell… not right? But it’s not bad. It’s a nice smell, actually, you actually smell very nice. But all the Parentless have this… weirdness to it, like… some sort of… mild spice? Yours is cinnamon, sort of? Like I said it really is kind of weird. The problem is a lot of us smell that and don’t bother to go any further, you know? But that’s the problem with most people across the board… beorc, laguz, or both… everyone sees something superficial and gets stuck. But we’re all working on it.”

  
  


“I know, I am too,” Soren said, and if Ranulf’s ears hadn’t been as amazing he likely wouldn’t have heard that.

  
  


He smiled. “I know, trust me. But! I came here with gifts! The tea that you so hate is now a different tea! A soothing one. And! And allow me to honor the kitten with his very first stuffed toy!” He pulled out a stuffed animal, a large fluffy blue cat, and placed it on top of the book.

  
  


Soren stared at it in surprise before his expression softened and he chuckled. “You got him a plush of  _ you? _ ”

  
  


“Well  _ yes _ , of course I did. Cats are awesome. Do you… not like it?”

  
  


“It’s lovely. Very well-made. It’s just… ah, this is going to sound crazy, but… I had a vision. A premonition.”

  
  


Ranulf tilted his head in thought. “You can have those?”

“Not often, no, but occasionally magic does like to do such a thing. But… in it, there was a little boy, a little Branded boy, with a stuffed bunny.”

  
  


“Aww.” Ranulf smiled at the idea of a mini Soren with a stuffed bunny. “That’s cute. But that’s not Priam. He’s just a beorc.”

  
  


**“** I know. So, Priam can have the kitty, and the little boy I saw can have the bunny, when it’s time. Thank you, Ranulf.”

  
  


“You’re welcome. So… I remember you telling Ike we weren’t friends…” He grinned like, of course, a cocky cat. “Have I made you change your mind yet?”

  
  


Soren finally looked up at him, a little smirk on his lips. “Depends on if I like the new tea more.”

  
  


Ranulf knew that meant “yes” and purred. 

  
  


Even if Soren hated the new tea just as much as he’d hated the old tea.


	6. December

_ December 4th: _

Ike was playing no one’s favorite game, “Find the Food that Soren Will Eat.” Citrus fruit had been consumed for a solid month before no longer being acceptable.

He was sympathetic, really! The baby took up most of the space in his abdomen, so no wonder Soren was excessively picky. And grumpy. The “always seeking heat” thing was weird though, wouldn’t he be warmer? Oh well.

“And a little bit of these flakes…” Oscar added the dark delicious things with the weird name. “There. One dozen chocolate cookies. You can tell Soren you made them by yourself.”

“Thanks, Oscar.” Ike took the tray and added some of the fruits, raspberries, from the cold closet. “This here is officially the only stuff he’ll eat…”

Oscar made a face. “I know. Trust me, I know. He bruised me good with that lamb shank.”

“That was your own fault,” Ike agreed as he left. Soren had never been a big meat eater. Ironic, considering his lineage most likely included a carnivore laguz. Of course Ike wasn’t unconvinced Soren was part heron, and that was evidence towards it… but Soren would probably claw his own face off if it turned out he was related to Micaiah somehow, so Ike never brought it up.

There was a bundle of blankets in front of the fire, with a large blue panther resting on top but next to the largest lump. The panther was loudly purring even as it used its tail to guide a teacup towards the lump.

“Get it away from me,” said the cocoon. A tiny wind threatened to blow over the cup. “I will not drink that thirty-times-damned tea. I hate it and I hate you.” Ike snickered, because Soren had damned that tea way more than thirty times. It still had a while to go to catch up to its predecessor, but Soren would likely never touch any drink that could be called tea after he gave birth. 

The cat continued to purr even as Mist came back in. “C’mon Soren, we added so much honey that at this point, the tea should taste like honey only.”

“I hate honey, and I hate this tea and all teas.”

“I made cookies!” Ike said as cheerfully as possible. “Your favorite cookies, fresh baked, nice and warm. Plus I got out some of the fruit from storage.”

There was a pause before a hand poked out of the cocoon. Ike handed over a cookie, pleased. The hand withdrew and then Soren could be heard nibbling the cookie.  _ He’s so cute, _ Mist mouthed to him, and he nodded in agreement. So did the panther.

Ranulf shifted back to a human. “You know the honey tea is good for the kitten,” he said soothingly, still purring. “And you said you would do  _ anything _ for the kitten…” Ike was now used to his unborn child being referred to as his kitten, but it was still cute. 

“No.” The teacup rocked precariously, but Ranulf caught it. 

“It’s either drink the tea or give birth now,” said Mist sternly, hands on her hips. Her look was not effective at all given that Soren was so heavily cocooned. “It’s part of what’s keeping my troublesome nephew inside you right now.”

“I am okay with that. Six months isn’t that bad.”

“It would be incredibly dangerous and you know it!”

“I miss my magic! I miss being able to walk! I miss not being sore! I miss being warm! I miss my feet! I want him  _ out! _ ”

Ranulf pulled the lump into a hug, purring. Ike fought off bristling, but likely only succeeded because Soren himself wasn’t actually visible. “The longer he stays in, the better for him,” he said soothingly. “Which you know. You’re just not having a good day today, and that’s fine. How about you take a little sip now, with the cookie Ike made for you, and then you drink more later on?” Mist was about to protest but Ranulf shook his head at her. 

“And I can massage your feet when you’re done drinking it all,” Ike volunteered. It wasn’t unusual for Soren to complain, but it  _ was _ unusual for him to voice being upset at being pregnant in general. “I’m sorry you’re not feeling well. I’ll help however I can.” Ranulf slow-blinked at Ike before gesturing with his head, and Ike moved in to trade their spots. Soren was shivering, although whether from emotions or the cold Ike wasn’t sure. Could be both. “It’s okay to ask for help.”

Soren didn’t respond to that, not that Ike expected him to. Mist and Ranulf mutually agreed to leave them alone, which Ike was grateful for. After some silence, the lump of blankets began to drink the tea quietly, with Ike cooing praises enough for the both of them.

* * *

_ December 10th: _

Soren wasn’t feeling much better a week later, but completing tasks was much better than sitting around wallowing in his misery. Even better, everyone was busy and Soren had told a tiny white lie to Rhys (“oh did you forget? Today is Mist’s day to babysit me”) which meant  _ he was alone.  _ Well, except for Priam.

He quite literally could not recall the last time that had happened. Of course part of that was his own fault for suggesting a buddy system, but now that the threat was gone someone was  _ still  _ always chaperoning him. It was nice to feel solitude for once.

(Where was Ike? “Working on a secret.” Soren wasn’t dumb and figured he was renovating one of the older wings of the fort so they could have a room and nursery, their own little suite. It was cute, even if somewhat exasperating that Ike thought he could keep it a secret. The long hours gone paired with how he always came back tired, pleased and dirty made it obvious.) 

The peace was ruined by the sight of all the potion bottles spilled on the floor of his office.

Goddess  _ damnit.  _

“Ranulf! Get your ass in here!” he snapped. Finding things on the floor was standard practice now, but the sheer scale of this was beyond acceptable. Even if Soren  _ could _ pick up the glass and mop the contents, which he couldn’t now, he absolutely refused to. 

“Yeeeeeeees?” Ranulf looked happy until he noticed the office carnage. “What? No! No that wasn’t me!”

“You mean someone  _ else _ knocked all the bottles off the shelf.” Soren did not believe him at all.

“Yes! It definitely wasn’t me! I mean I find the beorc obsession with things on tables to be crazy, but I also value all the healing stuff… and my life. Please don’t kill me. It wasn’t me! I was framed!”

“Who would frame you?”

Ranulf’s ears pinned in thought before he lit up. “Oh! This must be revenge… I’ll handle it, don’t worry.”

“Mmhmm. You’ll also clean this up.”

Ranulf gave him a look of such sorrow. “But it wasn’t my fault! Why do I have to clean it up?”

“Because until you prove otherwise, it  _ was  _ your fault, and if you don’t clean this all up I will set all the mint in this fort on fire.”

He gasped in pure horror, as if Soren had suggested setting  _ him _ on fire. “No!”

“I don’t recommend you test me.” Unfortunately, the mess was largely centered around the desk which meant he couldn’t sit down and work. And the short walk from his bedroom to the office had exhausted him. Time for a nap. 

“I believe you,” Ranulf grumbled, going to get a mop. 

“You should.” Soren shuffled back to bed, writing the rest of the day off. 

* * *

  
  


The fort was completely repaired with the exception of construction in the oldest wing. All supplies were in and travel was done until the end of winter. Jobs typically would be few and far between now that snow had fallen. There was a solstice festival later on in the month, but otherwise it was time to go into hibernation. 

Which meant everything on Titania’s to-do list was checked off, and she finally had no choice but to explore this whole… relationships… thing.

Nearly three months after Ranulf had propositioned her. 

Not awkward at all.

She had to give him props for his bravery, honestly. Even though things were relaxing, there was still a huge taboo about laguz-beorc relationships. Even worse, it was now common knowledge that if he got her pregnant, he would lose his ability to shift for some reason. Not that Titania had any idea if she was even capable of having a baby. But still, it was not an insignificant risk that he was taking, even  _ asking _ her on a date. 

They both were very multicultural, both having been to a large number of places in the world and able to fit in anywhere. They were both cognizant of the differences and similarities between beorc and laguz and were undaunted by it all. 

He had really stepped up as an uncle. At this point most of the team was (sometimes begrudgingly) calling Priam “the kitten.”

And he was handsome.

So… did she want a relationship?

It… it wasn’t exactly a priority… but it wasn’t  _ not _ . She had no idea what she was doing, but… well… why not? There was no why not.

So she got him a gift.

“You have been staring at me for five minutes,” said Ranulf.

Oh yes, she was trying to talk to him right now. He had just finished cleaning up the office for some reason.

“I…”

This was insane! She was Titania, Deputy Commander of the Greil Mercenaries! She was a knight! This hemming and hawing was beneath her!   
  


“I expect to be properly courted,” she said. 

He blinked. “Oh wow. Three months later? I’m not sure if I should be offended or honored.” 

“Honored,” she asserted, fighting to keep the blush from her face. “And, and I’ll do the same, because far be it for me to, to be the one taking and not giving in a relationship. I - honestly I have no idea what I’m doing, but, I’ll figure it out and do it well. So! Here!” She handed him a satchel tied off with a ribbon. “Consider this as my acceptance of your proposal.” 

Oh, wrong phrasing!

“To date!” she amended. “Not - not anything else!”

“I get it,” he said with a chuckle, peeking. “Oooo, catnip, and the good stuff. You hit the bullseye. Consider me wooed. Just have to make sure Soren can’t threaten this too.” She didn’t know what he meant by that. “And don’t worry, I’m well aware of beorc courtly chivalry and shall enjoy the challenge of appropriately courting you.” He slow-blinked at her. “You just caught me unprepared, is all. I’ll amend that. Do you like chocolates?”

“No,” she admitted, “I don’t like sweets, but I do like flowers, and candles.”

“Noted. I will be sure to sweep you off your feet.”

“You’d better,” she said, shame finally catching up to her and she fled.

But she did it!

* * *

_ December 14th: _

Ike was with what he silently referred to as Team Baby - Mist, Rhys and Ranulf. And himself, of course. “What do we do about the solstice?” he asked the brain trust, “I don’t want to leave Soren out of the festivities, but would it be safe to go into town?”

“Nooooo,” said Mist, shaking her head vehemently. 

“Maybe if we got a chair on wheels, or a cart of some kind?” Rhys mused. “I don’t want him on a horse either.”

“Soren has been freezing cold for the past two months,” Ranulf pointed out, “and aren’t your festival activities  _ outside _ ?”

That was a good point. Typically the Greil Mercenaries would go to the nearest town for the solstice festivals; in fact, ever since the end of the Mad King’s War, someone had always paid them to put in an appearance. People were weird, but money was money. Anyway, while Ike had been concerned about the travel and participation in the festival, the fact that the whole thing was cold was just… oops. Oversight. 

“Well… okay, so Soren going to the festivals is just not going to happen… so I guess… I mean he doesn’t strike me as the type to mind being left out, but...” Mist lit up. “Oh! Does that mean!  _ We can have a party here? _ ”

Ike resisted the urge to groan. “As long as I don’t have to do any work, go for it,” he said begrudgingly. 

Rhys smiled serenely. “Oh, we haven’t had a party here since I joined. How lovely!” 

Ranulf was actually doing a happy dance. “Yessss time for the lover cat to step up. Perfect!” As everyone looked at him, he explained, “Oh, right, yeah, Titania said I could try to court her. I’ve never shied down from a challenge, and frankly she’s a big ol’ softy.”

“You’re… you’re trying to date Titania?” Ike asked, not able to wrap his mind around that.

“Finding flowers in December is difficult but not impossible,” Ranulf said with pride. Poor Rhys had gone a very telling shade of red.

“Aww,” said Mist. “That’s a cute match. She deserves to be happy and have someone spoil her.”

“What about me?” Ranulf asked her with a hurt expression. She just looked at him. “I may be a little spoiled already, but I could always afford more.” Her expression did not change. “You Greils are tough.”

“So, we’re going to throw a party?” Ike asked, nervous. “Can we  _ not _ invite other people?”

“Normally I would argue, but Soren is delicate so nope, just the team,” Mist reassured him. “We’ll make it easy. Just the decorations, the tree, some presents.” 

“The holiday is next week, we don’t have a lot of time,” Rhys said with a tiny shamed face. “I’m sorry. It completely slipped my mind.”

“The only reason I thought about it was because of Rolf singing,” Ike agreed, “And then I realized that there’s no way Soren can go into town, so then I brought it up to you guys. So, simple, homey, cozy. Uh, can we skip presents?”

“No!” Mist told him, “That’s the best part!”

“Then do  _ you _ want to come up with nice things for everyone from me and Soren?” Ike asked her bluntly.

“You’re exempt,” she said begrudgingly. “We only have a week! Let’s get going!” she ran out to go plan.

Ike watched her leave. “So weird,” he said fondly. 

“She’s actually the normal one,  _ you’re _ the weird sibling,” Ranulf ‘joked.’ 

“You better be nice to me, you’re trying to court my mother-sister-hero figure,” Ike retorted. “Titania adores me. I put in a mean word for you and it’s over.”

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t,” Ranulf said smugly. “And any mean comments about me are lies.”

“Says the guy who has this weird compulsion to knock things down… so many drinks wasted because of you...”

“That wasn’t me! In the office, I mean. And I cleaned that one up, under penalty of death. I was good. Also, your husband is mean.”

Ike grinned. “He’s nice to  _ me _ and to the ki - baby, that’s all I care about.”

“Um,” Rhys quietly interjected, “Shouldn’t we get to work?” Poor guy’s face was still red. Ike was oblivious to most things socially-related, but even he could tell Rhys was put off by the Ranulf/Titania pairing. Hey, Mia was still single, she flirted with him a lot. 

“Yes! This is going to be the best solstice party ever, just you wait!” Ranulf looked determined. “Okay… maybe not the best… but decent! It will be a decent party!”

* * *

  
  


Ike decided that the new suite would be a perfect solstice present. Because Team Baby had decided to become Team Decoration, Ike put Rolf on Soren Duty so he, Boyd and Gatrie could finish the work in record time. 

(“I’d rather be on Soren Duty,” said Gatrie with a pout.

“It’s your own fault for being weird and hitting on anything with female parts,” Ike retorted.)

The walls were completely fixed now, the floors flattened and smoothed out and covered in rugs, and tapestries had been placed all over to increase the warmth. There was a bathroom and a smaller room attached for a nursery. There was a lovely crib in it, made by Boyd, and Ike definitely hadn’t cried upon that reveal.

Eh, forget it. He definitely had. It was just… a lot of emotion. Mostly good ones. Some bittersweet ones. 

But everything was ready.

* * *

_ December 21st:  _

The group, everyone but Titania, was gathered in the main hall, the only place that was decorated for the holidays. There was a large tree someone had dragged in, although the ornaments were suspiciously scattered all over the floor. The whole room was obviously hastily done but it was unmistakably festive. Soren hadn’t helped at all, so he couldn’t judge too much.

But he did judge a little.

He was cozy, wrapped in blankets and sitting by the hearth. Despite this, he was still waiting for Ike to come cuddle him for the extra heat. Unfortunately for him, Oscar had made a veritable feast and Ike was definitely feasting. Ike may have said he loved Soren more than food (once), but that was a hard thing to prove when actual food was present.

“My solstice present to you is drinking this without arguing,” Soren said to the group, raising his cup before drinking it down. Disgusting, but it earned a cheer.

“That’s better than the gifts I got people,” Mist admitted with a laugh. “I’ll admit I completely forgot about the holiday until last week! Literally!”

“It was a little hard to focus, what with the army and the assassins,” Boyd agreed, backing her up. 

“I didn’t get anyone anything,” Shinon said with something like pride. He was drunk off the spiked eggnog. 

“Neither did I, but that’s because I forgot,” Gatrie added. 

“Me neither, and I also forgot,” Mia admitted. “I’m more into candy and spooky stuff than this shmoopy stuff.”

“Ah, candy,” Rolf said happily, wistfully. He was inexplicably dressed as a reindeer. “Although all the cookies here are awesome.”

“What’s important is that we’re all together, safe,” Mist interrupted smoothly, “and that our family will be growing by one soon. It’s an exciting time!”

Soren assumed she was referring to the baby, but decided to ask Ranulf, “So you quit your real job and are just staying here full time?”

Ranulf grinned, looking a little embarrassed. “Well I finally told King Skrimir I was staying here until the kitten is born at least, and if he  _ really _ needed me back he would have to somehow convince Reyson or Leanne to come here in my stead. Considering they haven’t shown up, I figure he’s okay with it. He has a soft spot for you, Soren.” 

Soren flushed awkwardly (he did  _ not _ have a soft spot for Skrimir, considering the idiot ruined the greatest battle plan he’d ever come up with, but he was still put-off by people feeling charitable towards himself). “That’s a shame, if only because it would be funny for him to appear here and have Titania punch him in the face.”

Ranulf chuckled and nodded as Ike sat down. “Aw man, that’s a great idea though. Or Rafiel. Sing away the sickness instead of drinking tea.”

That made Soren smile and shake his head. “Oh yes, outsource the ancient magics of the royal heron clan to spoil me further. Knowing the way I’ve been lately, I’d be just as eager to listen to one of them sing as I am to drink this tea.”

“You could cover your ears and still get the effects… I think. I’m not sure.” Ike nodded to himself. “Well, by the time one of them got here it’d be too late.”

“Next time,” Soren agreed. Ike’s face went completely red, and Soren smiled smugly at his shock.

Titania walked in and closed the main doors behind her, the last of the “partygoers” to arrive. She looked at the tree and then sighed. “Ranulf, you’re grounded.” She gestured to all the ornaments on the ground.

He gasped in shock, covering his chest with a hand. “But why? I did nothing wrong!”

She just looked at him.

“Okay, yes, that one was me,” he admitted. 

Mist began to hand out little wrapped bundles. “All right, I’ll start. So I know these aren’t the best, but, here, I got something for everyone!” She patiently waited as everyone opened theirs. Everyone got thick patchwork socks. 

“For normal people, a cliche is that socks suck,” Rolf said somberly, “but for me, socks are the best things ever.” 

  
“For all of us, Rolf,” Oscar agreed. “Thank you, Mist.”

Mist beamed as she sat back down. “Of course! It’s just been so busy here, I wish I could have done more! Does anyone else have any presents to give out?”

Soren imagined there were crickets chirping. 

“Well… I can forgive some of you,” she said with a little laugh. 

“I have a private gift,” Ike whispered in Soren’s ear. 

Soren blushed despite himself. He assumed it was the completed rooms, but his mind instantly went to something a little  _ more _ private. Oh curse his completely inexplicable sex drive that came and went at the most random time! 

“It doesn’t have to be private,” Ranulf interrupted. Ike scowled at him for eavesdropping. “Hey, don’t give me that look, these ears aren’t just for show! You should be proud to show off all the work.”

“Ranulf quit trying to spoil the surprise!”

“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” Soren soothed, lying.

This made Ike pout more. “That means you already know then… so much for it being a surprise.”

“Well I haven’t seen anything,” Soren said, “Honestly this time. I really haven’t.”

“We did a lot of work!” Gatrie said proudly. 

“We had no choice,” Boyd agreed with a little laugh.

“Can I get your old room?” Rolf asked brightly. “I’m sick of sharing with Boyd, he’s so messy-”. Boyd pulled him into a headlock-and-noogie combo.

“We’ll figure that out later,” Ike said, “and we’ll go when the party’s done so we don’t have to leave again.”

He knew Ike was referring to Soren being on bedrest, but he didn’t care. His face went even hotter. “I’m done now,” he blurted.

Ike stared at him, and he stared right back. “I’m tired,” he lied. Well, partially lied. He was tired.

“Oh, well, then, uh. Okay.” He stood and picked up Soren easily. “Well, goodnight everyone.”

“The sun barely set?” Rolf voiced.

Soren had been excited for all the wrong reasons, but gasped with a little shock at the significant work that had obviously been done. So now he was excited for all the  _ right _ reasons. It was cozy and warm and lovely, bigger than their current quarters but not overly so, but with the main improvement being the attached nursery and bathrooms. 

There was a crib in the nursery already, along with all the toys that had been collected over the months. 

“Shit,” said Soren, getting teary. 

“What?” Ike was still holding him. “Good tears?”   
  


He nodded, wiping his eyes with his sleeves. “This is perfect.”

“I cried too,” Ike admitted with a little laugh, finally letting Soren walk around. “It’s… real.”

He nodded, looking at everything. Everything was simple, rustic, but well-made. “It’s perfect,” he said again, walking back to Ike to hug him tight. “You’re perfect.”

Ike kissed his Brand. “So are you.”


	7. January

_ January 26th: _

In retrospect, everyone had let their guard down after the assassinations ended and the siege was repelled. The holidays passed by without concern, so surely everything would be fine. That being said, there was no way that preparation could have stopped what occurred next, either.

One minute in late January Soren was in bed (same bed, new room) arguing with Ranulf, again, about drinking his tea. The next, the room seemingly filled up with a man in a massive set of black, all-obscuring armor. The armored figure, obviously more prepared than they, grabbed him and disappeared with him too quickly to react.

The transportation had been quick and painless. So, Begnion transportation staves, used by someone in the Black Knight’s armor. 

Once his mind caught up with the situation, Soren was practically vibrating with emotions, both afraid and enraged. They were in a fort, that much he could tell. “You might as well take off that helmet because I know you are not the Black Knight even if you wear that armor. It’s an intimidation tactic that fails on me because I was there when Ike killed Zelgius.”

The man in the mask chuckled. “Normally you would be correct, but you’re forgetting many of the factors involved in my death. We were in a magic tower under the guidance and protection of a goddess who has proven she can resurrect the dead.”

Soren did feel a chill down his spine for a brief second. “Bullshit. I-”

“Also you left me alive,” said another man, walking in.

“Sephir – Lehran,” Soren whispered. 

He smiled at him. “I don’t believe we were ever formally introduced. Yes, I am Sephiran. Please refer to me as such, if you don’t mind. And you are Soren, tactician that led to the end of all my grand designs. For that you have my respect. But don’t fear; currently it is your status as Ike’s spouse that interests us.”

Soren’s heart was pounding so hard he was worried for his health. Baby Priam was kicking hard, likely reacting to his distress. “I won’t let you hurt him,” he whispered. 

Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit…

“I hope no one gets terribly hurt,” Sephiran agreed. “Please allow me to explain, since as a mage, you can appreciate this. Currently those who were killed in the Tower are effectively alive as members of the Order. You remember them, correct?” Soren nodded. “Of course, this means everything is contingent on a goddess who may or may not be dead. Ashunera may arrive in glorious rebirth tomorrow, or she and evidence of her may vanish as we speak. I am not going to take that chance. The tipping point of a complete resurrection is the consumption of the blood of the killer… freely given.”

Soren digested that information. So Zelgius would need to drink Ike’s blood? Ike would need to give it voluntarily? “No. You’re insane. He won’t, not to resurrect the man who killed his father!”

Zelgius laughed, the noise distorted by the helmet. Soren was almost relieved he wasn’t taking it off; who knew what he looked like underneath? “Why do you think I kidnapped  _ you _ ?”

* * *

Gatrie was clinging to Ike’s legs while Boyd had one arm and Ranulf the other. The general was fighting tooth and nail to get free, powered by pure fury.

Titania had her work cut out for her, keeping an eye on the men in case they needed to tap out but until then in charge of trying to talk sense into Ike. “Listen to me! If that letter is true then he is safe and we have time to plan!”

He was barely able to make eye-contact with her, which was scary. “I don’t care! I need to go now!”

“The letter is true because that definitely was the Black Knight!” Ranulf said, “He smelled like him but with some corpsy stuff.”

“So I need to go now and fucking kill him again!” The group moved forward about two inches. 

Titania sighed to herself and cupped his cheeks in her hands. “Sephiran would kill you and you know it. You have an entire mercenary team here to help you rescue him. Use us!”

Ike stared at her for a few seconds before he tersely nodded. “Quickly.”

“So from the letter we know Zelgius has Soren and Sephiran is with him, and we know they’re together at the old fort a few miles south. They also promised that Soren would remain unharmed for three days. From Ranulf we know that Zelgius is undead and that’s how he survived your duel – he actually didn’t.” It always helped her to state the facts out loud. “We don’t know why he wants you to come to them or why he didn’t just ambush and kill you, or why he kidnapped Soren. So we should proceed with caution, as a team, and hope they want to negotiate so no one gets hurt.”

“Fuck that!” Ike snarled. 

Before he could continue, she demanded of him, “So you wouldn’t do anything for them?”

He recoiled. “What?”

“You just said you won’t even try the nonviolent approach to save your husband and child. I thought you would do anything for them.”

“She has a point,” Ranulf spoke up. 

“I get the rage, but their safety is more important than your revenge,” Boyd agreed.

Ike spat out a few choice curses but eventually snapped, “Fine! Then get everyone together and let’s go!”

“Boyd, Gatrie, round everyone else up,” Titania instructed. The two did so, both looking relieved at not having to wrestle Ike anymore. “I think our best bet is to go as a group open to parlay, and Ranulf, you sneak in another way and find Soren. Hopefully we can break him out.”

Ranulf lit up and nodded. “I accept the challenge. Not that I ever would, but if I had to kidnap Soren and hold him against his will, I would drug him and lock him in a room somewhere.” Ike bristled, and Ranulf continued, “Soren wouldn’t make a very cooperative captive – both too smart and too snarky, and typically too powerful. And, presumably their plan relies on Soren being alive. Easier to drug than to worry about escape attempts.”

“If they hurt the baby, they’re going to die even more painfully,” Ike vowed. 

Titania put her hand on his shoulder, squeezing comfortingly. “Agreed. I hope we can resolve this without you or Soren getting hurt, but we are all ready to fight if needed.”

Everyone else came out, looking equally as determined as Titania said they were, and the group moved out.

* * *

Soren knew he was stuck, that the situation had no way out other than Ike complying with them. The insult to injury was the knowledge that even if he hadn’t been pregnant, if he’d been himself, he would be just as stuck. From a distance his magic could likely take out the Black Knight with difficulty, but with Sephiran there, the situation would be exactly the same. 

But with Ike less likely to come to the rescue…

He sighed, chastising himself for thinking in such negative terms, and with hypotheticals. There was no reason to wonder what else could happen, when this was the situation. He could try to escape; he couldn’t be too far from the fort, otherwise how would they expect Ike to find them? And he knew the surrounding area well enough that, should he manage to get outside, he could make it back alone. Of course, his room here had bars in the windows. And it would be difficult regardless, if only because it was almost certain that they were expecting him to make the attempt. And even if he managed it, the Black Knight could just zap in and grab him the same way he did before...

Sweet merciful Godd – someone. That would be in his nightmares for years. The knowledge that the Black Knight – anyone, really if they had the staff – could just appear and disappear at whim, too quick to react. It was horrifying. Soren would have to figure out a way to stop it. Surely he could. It was magic. There had to be a way to defend –

The door to his room opened abruptly, no knocking. “Rude,” he chastised, because apparently he had no self-preservation instincts.

The Black Knight – Zelgius, he snorted at him. “Take a moment to think of how very polite I am being. How easily your death or the death of your unborn child could come.”

Soren was not impressed. “Yes, because then Ike would be certain to give you his blood. He’s always wanted to see me as a corpse.” He forced his jaw closed after that, because he had a habit of insulting people in power over him and now was not the time. 

“True. But, really all I need is you alive… I certainly don’t need to hand you back  _ unscathed _ .”

He grit his teeth. “Did you have something you wanted beyond just irritating me?” he demanded, steeling himself. He would not let him see him react more than that. And the moment he had his magic back, he would help Ike hunt him down.

“Yes. First, I wanted to see if you needed food or water.”

“No.” He hadn’t been hungry since he got here, which was not atypical. And he wasn’t going to trust any sort of water he got from his captors. 

“And then I had… a question for you. Curiosity. Feel free to humor me or not. You also bear the Brand. Was your life filled with hardships as well?”

Soren laughed out loud. “You want a heart-to-heart?” he asked, shaking with laughter. “Dear gods, the nerve! ‘Yes Soren, I’ve kidnapped you as bait for your husband, but let’s also talk about our sad backstories!’” 

Even though he couldn’t see his face, he knew he was not happy with his reaction. “You are testing my patience.”

“It was horrible, if you must know, but many had it worse than I did,” he said, still laughing a little. “I have no parents and was sold to an abusive old man who taught me magic, before nearly dying of starvation or being stoned on the streets. The only reason I’m alive is because I was lucky enough to know magic and prove of use to people. We can’t all hide our Brands behind armor.”

“Ah, I see. Thank you.”

Well, it was likely whatever sob story Zelgius had paled in comparison to his, because he was moving to leave. Soren, frustrated, closed his eyes, communed with the spirits who were thick in the place, attracted to Sephiran. He expected continued ignoring, but…

No, they were here. They were strong, which was impressive, because he only ever dealt with the strongest among them. 

_ And compliant _ .

The original point still stood. He couldn’t escape with both Zelgius and Sephiran here. But….

“Tell me something, Zelgius.”

The armor hesitated, hand on the door latch. “Yes?”

“Knowing what you know now, and how you ended up, would you do it again?”

“No. Killing Gawain was a waste, knowing that he was not at his peak.”

“And that’s it? Nothing else?”

“Everything else went as it could have with Gawain dead. If he lived things would obviously be quite different.”

So he felt no remorse for breaking Ike’s spirit, for making him and Mist orphans, or for tormenting him. He felt no shame in making a child his new rival. “I see.”

The spell hit hard and fast, essentially manifesting a massive boulder of pure magical ice that slammed into the Black Knight like a punch to the face to his entire body, knocking him through the door and into the opposite wall. 

“I don’t regret that either,” he said calmly, although he likely couldn’t hear him. Oh well. He walked through the broken door and down the hall, deciding to use this opportunity to figure a way out. The Black Knight was hardier than hoped for, so he probably wasn’t dead, but he was stuck and Soren felt pretty good.

Sadly, Sephiran was still in the area, and he walked down the hall quickly. “Interesting!” Yes, from that reaction, he also expected Zelgius was alive. “And here I thought you were powerless.”

He focused again; the spirits were around still, but more congregating toward Sephiran as if recognizing that Soren was still taboo. But a few – enough – were near him still. “I was,” he agreed. “But magic is a funny thing. I would like to go home now, please. If Zelgius survived, I can try to talk Ike into sharing his blood.”

The man chuckled. He was still so magnanimous, even though he had sucker-punched his partner. “We both know that isn’t going to happen.”

“True.” He decided to test his luck again.

* * *

Ike felt the fire of fury in his head, like the way it felt to grab the medallion in his dream. 

His husband and his baby were in danger.

Because of  _ THE BLACK KNIGHT. _

How many times would he need to fight and kill that man before he would leave Ike alone? And to come during such a fragile time and target  _ Soren _ , who was vulnerable? Who had  _ nothing to do with that stupid rivalry?  _ Zelgius’ beef was with Greil and that transferred to Greil’s son because Ike  _ made it  _ transfer, but really, Greil’s son-in-law? Ike wished he’d brought an axe, because he was having fantasies about chopping Zelgius like a particularly stubborn stump. Just over and over and over and over…

Everyone but Ranulf was on horseback, Ike included. He wasn’t typically a fan of riding anything, but not a second could be wasted here so he steeled himself. Thankfully enough people worked with the horses so that the beast was compliant. 

Mist pulled up beside him on her own horse. “Hey, you know everything’s gonna be okay, yeah?” 

He wasn’t sure how to answer that, but he did have something he wanted to say to her anyway. “I’m sorry.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “For what?”

“For apparently not killing the guy who killed our father. Multiple times!”

Mist shook her head. “You  _ did  _ kill him and anyway I wouldn’t be mad if you hadn’t!  _ You’re  _ still alive and that’s what I was worried about! Dad didn’t want you avenging him, after all! But anyway, none of that matters. We’re going to rescue Soren and Priam, and everything is going to be fine, okay?”

He wanted to believe her, but he couldn’t, not until he was standing between Soren and the Black Knight. “I’d tell you to stay out of danger’s way but I know from experience you’d ignore me.”

She grinned. “You’re darn right!” 

He caught a flash of something on her left hand. Metal. “Boyd proposed? When were you planning on telling?”

Mist gasped and blushed, looking at her hand. “He… he did on the solstice… it was wonderful, but I didn’t want to steal your thunder.”

Ike scoffed. “None of that matters to me or Soren. You can tell everyone when we get back. Congrats.”

She beamed. “Thank you! Although he told me what you said and I owe you a smack with a frying pan. I am way too good for him!”

Ike laughed a little. If he hadn’t been so high-strung he would have enjoyed ribbing her, but he was too preoccupied, especially as the fort came into view. “Sometimes.”

Titania made her horse move faster and pulled up beside Ike, on the other side. “I want to make sure you’re in the right frame of mind,” she said sternly. “We’re going in with hopes to negotiate and stall for time so Ranulf can find Soren. We are  _ not _ going to charge and start waving weapons around.”

Ike just grunted, noncommittal. Quite frankly if he could somehow kill Zelgius and Sephiran while assuring Soren’s safety, he absolutely would. Heck, with the whole team here it would be dangerous but not out of the question…

It felt like the fort was both too close and too far away. Ranulf splintered from them as the rest dismounted and went in the front entrance… which was wide open.

Ike had given Alondite to Mia, but he was mindful of the second blade. That was a good point, Zelgius would not be so fearsome without it. And Ike had beat him solidly the last time they fought. As long as Soren was fine, everything would be fine. 

Sephiran was sitting on the throne, flanked by the Black Knight. Soren was nowhere to be seen. “Where is he!” Ike demanded of the two as he marched in. 

“Safe and unharmed, as promised,” said Sephiran soothingly. “It’s nice to see you too, Ike.”

Ike saw red. “You lost the right to pleasant talk when you  _ kidnapped my husband! Where is he!” _ He moved to draw Ragnell but Titania put a hand on his. Oh, right. Diplomacy.

“In exchange for a cup of your blood, your completely healthy spouse will be returned to you,” Sephiran said, “along with a trinket for his troubles.”

“A cup of blood?” Rhys asked.

“Ewww,” said Rolf.

Ike shook his head. “Other way around. You want my blood, fine, whatever,” and really,  _ whatever _ , he did  _ not _ care no matter how weird this was, “but you only get it when Soren is safe in my arms.”

“Do you give your word?” Sephiran asked. “Your solemn vow?”

“Okay why do you need blood anyway?” Mist asked, “I mean is it for a spell of some kind? Could you hurt him with it? Could you use me instead?”

“Mist!” Ike snapped at her.

“Aw, family bonds are so sweet,” Sephiran cooed, “but no, it… well, it’s part of a resurrection spell. The blood of the killer needs to be freely given.”

That got quite a few comments from the mercenaries. Rhys summed it up best with, “That’s not possible!”

Sephiran smiled, albeit sadly. “The Goddess works in mysterious ways. Tibarn already gave some blood and revived Dheginsea, although the process is not perfect, and power-wise he is a fraction of his old self. The same will happen to Zelgius. He will be severed from Ashera’s power and free to live or die on his own again, but he would not be a threat to you.”

“Heheh, cannibalism,” Boyd said while elbowing Oscar. This earned him a dope-slap from his older brother.

Ike thought about it even though there was only one choice. 

* * *

  
  


While the others went in the front entrance of the fort, Ranulf transformed and snuck in by climbing the stonework. It wasn’t exactly easy to scale, but it would have been impossible for a beorc to do it at all.

He landed on a ledge and took a deep sniff. Yep, Soren was here and nearby. He sighed, because of course he couldn’t have gotten lucky enough to find the right room on the first try, and leapt to the next window over to begin the climb to the right one.

Ranulf made it inside an open window, and winced. Soren was haphazardly laying in the middle of a bed, one wrist tied to the headboard and his hair askew. He was also naked and asleep. 

Well, at least he’d been right about them drugging and hiding Soren to prevent escape attempts…

The first thing he did was untie his hand and cover him with a blanket. Soren stirred a little at that. “Soren, it’s Ranulf,” he said quietly. He could smell whatever drug they’d used now, and had to stop a hiss. “We’re all here for you.”

His eyes opened, heavily lidded. “Hey, Ran’l,” he slurred. Yes, he was definitely drugged, although he didn’t recognize the specific scent or the symptoms. Hopefully whatever they used wouldn’t effect his nephew.

“Hey,” he said gently. “I’ll see if I can’t find your clothes, all right? Just wait.” He walked around the room, watching him out of the corner of his eyes as he moved a little. His clothes weren’t here but he did find some large silk pajamas. Someone had expensive taste. Most likely Sephiran, hence why he moonlighted as a prominent politician. “Perfect.” He took the gold-embroidered garnet-colored set to Soren and started to get him dressed. He thanked his body for cooperating and not finding his nudity arousing, because it really wasn’t: the intention had obviously been discomfort, probably punishment. No scent or sign of seed or blood, thank the dead goddess for small miracles. “May I pick you up?”

Soren flicked a wrist at him. “You may,” he said imperiously. Ranulf resisted the urge to laugh as he did so. “You know, you are not bad people.” Soren’s voice was still slurred but slightly more coherent; thankfully he was quiet so Ranulf didn’t have to shush him. “You are… an acceptable source of… life. HENCEFORTH you shall be renamed… Kitty Ike.”

He couldn’t suppress a soft laugh at that. “From you that’s high praise. I accept the honor. You could also call me by my name, though.”

“It is your name now.”

Ranulf couldn’t not smile. “Why can’t he be Beorc Ranulf? I’m older.”

“‘Cushz he’s the besssssst,” said Soren simply, eyes closing again. “Hey Kitty Ike.”

Oh wow, he was serious about that. It made Ranulf snicker. “Yeah?”

“I am… a fierce, and mighty dragon,” he proclaimed. “I am… however… fat.”

… And that was it.

“You’re still rather svelte for someone who has a giant baby in him,” Ranulf said indulgently. He slowed his walk because he could hear people in the distance now, and this strange, honest Soren was too fun to leave just yet. “But if you’re a dragon, then hey, fat dragons are still tough and they have lots of stuff to horde over. Are we friends?”

“Hmm… Goldoa permits this.”

Huh, so really in touch with his laguz side, although how would there be a part dragon? Oh well. Soren admitted they were friends and Ranulf would never let him live it down.

“Great. And, would you really have set all the mint on fire if I hadn’t cleaned your office?”

This got a slightly longer pause. “Of course.”

No surprise there. “Aw man, glad I listened. Are you happy?”

“At this moment? No, for I am… weird feeling and fat. But! In general! Yes, I am… very happy. I have… a spawnling. And an Ike. And now a Kitty Ike.” He began to giggle quite a bit, which was super hilarious coming from Soren even if very off-putting. “I’m havin’ a baby!” He started to crack up, which was Ranulf’s cue to hurry up again.

Everyone turned to look at them as they walked into the throne room of this old castle. Sephiran looked pained, as did Ike, but for different reasons Ranulf suspected. “Everyone is fine,” Ranulf soothed quickly, although it didn’t help as Ike ran over and all but tore Soren from his arms. Cute.

Ike held Soren to him and rocked him, nuzzling his hair and placing kisses on his forehead. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered reverently. Soren giggled. 

“He is alive and unharmed, as I said,” Sephiran said. Ike could pick up anxiety in his voice.

“I promised my blood for that, but you both don’t deserve it,” Ike said aloud. “I can’t believe I’m even humoring it. But… I gave my word. Zelgius if you ever hurt anyone else again, I will find out and end you, do you understand me?”

“Yes.” Simple, succinct. No backtalk, no jabs.

“And again, the resurrection should not restore him to complete health,” Sephiran offered. “He would not be in a position to hurt anyone.”

Ike cursed quietly. “I hate being honorable sometimes,” he muttered as he maneuvered Soren around to free his arm. He held it out. “Titania, please.”

“All right.” She smiled at him gently as she took the cup from Sephiran and sliced one of Ike’s veins open. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re making the right choice.”

“You aren’t,” said Shinon.

Ike laughed a little as he watched his blood flow into the cup. “And now I know I am.” He was surprised at Titania, but figured maybe she hadn’t made the connection to him having killed his dad.

Titania handed the cup to Zelgius. The man removed his helmet, displaying a face that was clearly desiccated and sickly. With no hesitation, he drank the cup of Ike’s blood. The results were instantaneous – the man once again resembled himself, as he had been.

“Thank you,” said Sephiran sincerely. “Ah, Soren. I have something for you, actually.”

Ike’s fingers tensed but Soren peered over. “Yeah? I’d hope so. I deserve it.” He giggled.

“We don’t want anything from you,” Ike growled. His declaration was completely wiped out when Sephiran procured a tome and Soren was out of his arms and looking it over almost simultaneously. “Soren! I just said we don’t-”

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Soren breathed, looking it over with fascination. To Ike, it was a green book. To Soren, it was a treasure, and when he opened it, the winds came to life around him. “Where did you get it?”

“Some of my travels have taken me to far-away lands. It’s called Forseti, after an ancient dragon wind god.”

“Oooooooooooooo. This is so much better than Rexcaliber I could squeal in joy. Ike, cancel your vengeance, this was totally worth it!”

“It was not!”

Soren gave his new tome a hug and walked back to Ike, who was still giving death glares. “Let’s go home. The drugs have worn off so I can walk. And now I have a new tome!”

“Ignore him, I stand by what I said,” Ike said again, pointing to his eyes and then to the both of them.

“Don’t worry about it, Ike,” said Titania fondly before she suddenly drew Urvan and charged.

While her sudden aggression caught everyone off-guard, Zelgius was still able to barely block her blow with his own sword, a simple silver blade. It didn’t deter her at all and she was on an intense offensive, driving Zelgius back as he tried to parry her blows and not get his head cleaved off.

“That explains why she was encouraging you to be merciful,” Soren mused, and Ike scowled. 

Both trained by Greil, how the battle would have ended up was ultimately unknown. Sephiran waved a staff and Zelgius disappeared from view in a bright light, as did he himself. 

“Damn it!” Titania cussed, allowing her axe to fall to the floor as she caught her breath.  _ “Damn it!” _ She turned and found the team staring at her. “Oh stop. Let’s just go.”

Ike would have been a little more concerned except that Soren was asleep in his arms, standing up, and he had more pressing matters to deal with. “Right. Everyone… thank you for coming with me.” He gave them all a serious nod as he began the walk back to the horses. 


	8. February

_ February 1st: _

Soren’s health regressed after the stress of the kidnapping, which was not unexpected. Priam was very clear in his insistence that he wanted to be born, just as Soren was very clear in  _ his _ insistence that it wasn’t going to happen. This meant significant time in bed, again. And less whining about drinking the tea that helped keep everything calm, finally. 

Ike was, of course, stressed out beyond all reason. He’d conscripted Boyd and Gatrie to do anything else he would normally do and devoted himself to complete Soren Pampering. Soren himself constantly presented as pleased but exhausted, and it was a struggle at times to find things for him to do to keep his spirits up. He’d sent a letter of request to Sanaki for one of those Begnion transportation staff things, but that was going to take awhile. 

So when a personnel issue came to light, Ike decided to outsource. Normally Titania handled them but she was actively hiding for some reason. Ike had a few ideas as to why.

Ranulf and Shinon stood solemnly at the bedside as Soren gave them both a judging expression. “I’m sorry,” he said, “from what I heard, it sounds as if two grown men are engaging in a juvenile prank war based on an indirect insult.”

“He started it,” said Shinon and Ranulf at the same time.

Soren took a deep breath for patience. “Ye gods, it doesn’t even matter. What ended up being the damage?”

Ike handed Soren an estimate of the repair and replacement costs. Soren stared at it in shock, and Ike was worried that he was giving birth right there. 

“He talked about killing the cat man,” Ranulf muttered.

“There are a lot of worse things I could have called you!” Shinon retorted.

“Shut up. This is… ridiculous. You are both terrible and you should feel terrible. You’ll also be paying for all the repairs for the fires and materials lost.”

They both protested, again, but Soren kept his look steely and unwavering. Ike was simultaneously waiting for an order to punch one of them, and trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. 

“Sorry, Bestie,” Ranulf said, slinking out. Ike caught a tiny smirk on his face.

“Shinon, get out,” said Soren. Shinon left without any arguments. “And Ike, go punch Ranulf for me.”

Ike smiled and shook his head. “Why’s he been calling you that, anyway?”

“I have no idea.”

“Because Goldoa permits it!” Ranulf crooned from the hallway.

“I seriously have no idea,” Soren said again, being completely honest. “I must have said something incriminating. Go punch him.” Ike shook his head again. Soren decided he didn’t want to think too hard about what Ranulf had actually said. “Do we have any idea why they were trolling each other?”

“Judging from how she’s hiding, my guess is they fought over Titania,” Ike said, curling back into bed.

“Why would they do that?”

“Wow, for once I know more than you! Ranulf is trying to date her, and Shinon is a racist prick.”

“Huh.” Soren nodded to himself as he thought about it. “No wonder he hasn’t left yet.”

“I think it’s a lot of things,” Ike said, “Escaping Gallia and helping us were his first two goals, and he thought ‘hey, she’s hot, I’ll try it.’ Worked out well enough. Although he is  _ not  _ taking her back to Gallia with him.”

Soren chuckled, closing his eyes. “At the rate things are going, Ranulf may never leave either. I can make a children’s book out of it: ‘The Cat that Will Not Leave.’”

“He’s your bestie,” Ike said with a soft laugh. 

He got comfortable, eyes closing. “No, that’s you.” 

“Heh. Thanks. Say… can I ask for advice? About Titania?”

Soren hummed. “Of course.”

* * *

Ike finally had to do the thing he dreaded most… a Titania Review where she wasn’t spotless. 

Although she’d hidden from the Ranulf-Shinon fiasco that resulted in part of the building exploding (Ike was not asking), she had  _ also _ been hiding from everyone ever since they got back to the fort, completely unrelated. Ike knew why. 

She had gotten the old room because she was deputy commander and the room Ike and Soren had vacated had been the largest room, formerly the commander’s room. Once her things were in there, she locked herself in. Ike felt a little bit like a cheater, but he still had the key and he broke in. There were about five destroyed punching bags and she was standing, winded, in front of another one. “Still mad?”

“How did you-” She caught sight of the key and sighed. “Should have known that’s where it was.”

“It’s fine.” Ike sat on her bed. “So. It’s finally my turn for once, to ask  _ you _ . Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” She wiped the sweat off her body with a towel. “What’s there to talk about?”

“Titania,” he said gently, not angry really, “you lied to me about being calm and diplomatic, so you could kill the Black Knight. Because you loved my dad. You’re not over my dad’s death… and that helps explain why you’re so frazzled at being courted.” Thanks for the insight, Soren. 

She sighed, not looking at him. “I… I suppose so.”

“I’m not mad or anything, I promise,” Ike said. “Frankly I wanted to do it too, and I wish I could have watched you chop him into tiny pieces. But I also think maybe you need to talk to someone about grief? I know talking about it with you and Soren and Mist helped me.”

For the most part. Nightmares notwithstanding. 

She sat down next to him, still staring at the ground. “I thought I was over it,” she admitted softly. 

“You tried to beat a man to death. You’re not over it.”

She snorted in amusement. “You got to do it twice. It was my turn.”

“I’m not arguing that. If I didn’t care about you, I would suggest you take sabbatical and go hunt him down. Buuuuuuuut you’re too nice for that, and frankly this company would fall apart without you in about five minutes.” 

She shook her head, still smiling. “No it wouldn’t. You’ve grown into the position, Ike. I promise.”

“Because of  _ you _ . I still remember the days when I was first named commander, and we encountered so many enemies that you just effortlessly defeated… Heh. Good times. And if you left, I’d lose Shinon for sure, probably Gatrie.”

“That’s true enough.” She sighed again. “So, now what? Am I finally being written up?”

He shook his head. “No, no. Just… take care of yourself, like you take care of everyone else. And next time you decide you want vengeance, maybe don’t wait until the opponent has had his health restored…”

“It’s dishonorable otherwise,” she scoffed.

“Yeah, but  _ you _ didn’t get your arm cut open first,” he pointed out. “Could have saved me the pain.”

She chuckled. “Thanks, Ike.”

“No problem. We’re family.” He patted her on the back and left, hoping he got the point across, and helped somewhat.

(He did.)

  
  


* * *

_ February 9th: _

Ike woke up to Soren screaming in pain, and it was made clear very quickly that bedrest was over and baby Priam was on the way a month early, whether they liked it or not.

The good news was that the scream woke up Ranulf, so Ike could send him to get Rhys and Mist even as he struggled to keep himself and Soren calm. He got him up and standing. “Walk, right? I remember that. It’s going to be fine. We’re going to be fine. I love you Soren. It’s going to be fine.” 

Soren was pale, more so than usual, and clammy, and Ike was still haunted by his scream. “This is… Ike… promise me… promise me that if something happens to me…”

“No. No Soren. No.”

“You won’t abandon this baby.” Soren gripped his hand tight enough that, if he’d been any stronger, he absolutely would have broken his bones. “Promise me.”

Ike gritted his teeth before hugging him. “Damn it Soren, no! No I do not promise.”

“Ike.”

“If you die, I am punting this baby out the nearest window.” He wasn’t sure if he was joking or not, honestly. “So you need to live. And I will do everything in my power so that you do. You’re not alone here.”

Except he was, and this was all Ike’s fault. 

Why had he been so stupid? He was too big and Soren was too small! As he held him, and saw how weak he looked, it fully hit him how easily he could die in childbirth. How the last eight months of his torment had been because of Ike and Ike’s stupid desire for a family.

He pressed kisses to his face as Rhys and Mist ran in.

The following time was a blur that moved very quickly. He was in charge of moving Soren’s body for him, which was great because he wasn’t letting him go. The baby came out fast, ripping him open and getting blood everywhere, but there were enough healing staves and concoctions present to mitigate the damage. Soren spent most of it whimpering in pain, making noises he’d never heard from him before and that would haunt his nightmares along with the scream.

But in the end, the birth was successful, and little Priam Ranys Greil came into the world screaming his little lungs out, as if to let everyone know he was not happy with waiting so long and that damn it, he was hungry. Soren slept through the feeding, which thankfully Priam had no trouble at all figuring out. Mist and Rhys cleaned up the room, and Ranulf helped too, although Ike’s complete focus had narrowed down onto Soren and Priam.

He felt like he might faint, too. 

But he had to protect them both now. 


	9. Epilogue

Priam was ridiculously cute, with a mop of blue hair and big blue eyes, darker shaded than Ike’s. He never cried except for when he was hungry – which meant he cried a lot because he was almost always hungry. Thankfully for Ike, although Soren had tried breast-feeding for as long as possible, his supply had been unable to keep up with Priam’s demand and he’d had to admit defeat. Ike was happy to get his husband “back” sooner than they’d originally planned.

They were never in want of babysitters. Although Priam spent most of his time with his parents, there were times others would fight over who got to take him, and he was always accepting. He made it clear his super favorite was Uncle Kitty (as opposed to Uncle Ranulf, who was  _ a _ favorite but not  _ the _ favorite), closely followed by Aunt Titania and then Aunt Mia. But he liked all of them.

* * *

_ October 12th: _

“If his first word is K-I-T-T-Y, I am going to turn you into a rug, Ranulf,” said Soren as everyone arrived for dinner.

Ike laughed a little, bouncing Priam in his arms as he sat. “No you won’t.”

“You should be so honored,” Ranulf said, sticking his tongue out. “You’ll miss me when I go back to Gallia.”

“No I won’t.”

“I think his first word should be Papa,” Ike said, nuzzling his son’s little head. This got him some sappy “awws” from everyone else, and put a small blush on Soren’s cheeks. “What? Soren did all the work getting him here.”

“You’re not wrong,” Soren agreed with amusement. “It was worth it, though.” He lowered his voice, “You might be able to convince me to have more.”

Ike’s eyes went wide at that admission. “Seriously? After all that?”

“Mmmhmm. But, in a year or two.”

Ike’s brain whirred even as dinner was served. He did and didn’t want to indulge that. No more assassination attempts and probably no kidnapping… and having already gone through this once, surely it would easier the second time… but…

“Beef!” Priam proclaimed with glee.

Everyone stared at him.

“Mmm mmm mmm, beef!” Priam grinned big. 

Ike grinned big too. “Fuck. YES!”

Titania laughed so hard she started crying. She was far from the only one; Ranulf was dejected and Soren vowed Ike would have less time with the next two, but everyone else cracked up. 

Yep, it was all worth it in the end.


End file.
